The foreign ministers of South Korea and the United States decided to coordinate schedules for quick face-to-face discussions over the phone.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Cho Tae-yeol reached this agreement during a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken on the 21st, exchanging opinions on the current domestic situation and Korea-U.S. relations.
This is the first phone call since the National Assembly passed the impeachment bill against President Yoon Seok-yeol and the system was converted to acting President Han Deok-soo. Previously, the two ministers had a phone call on the 6th after the ‘December 3 martial law incident.’
Acting President Han had a phone call with U.S. President Biden on the 15th and reaffirmed America’s firm support for the ROK-U.S. alliance and trust in its defense pledge against Korea.
In this phone call, Minister Cho said, “Let us work to ensure that the ROK-US alliance continues to be maintained and developed without wavering even under the acting presidential system. “Let’s work together to ensure that the achievements of Korea-U.S. and Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation continue to develop under the new U.S. administration,” he said.
Secretary Blinken strongly agreed with this and said, “Acting President Han is a capable and respected leader, and I have full confidence in the current acting system.”
He continued, “The United States highly values and trusts Korea’s democracy and its resilience,” adding, “The United States’ ironclad defense commitment to Korea remains unchanged, and let us continue to communicate and cooperate closely until the end of the Biden administration’s term for the development of the ROK-U.S. alliance and Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation.” He responded.
Previously, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell announced at a press conference on the 19th (local time) that he was planning a high-level face-to-face dialogue with the Korean government within the next few weeks.
Face-to-face discussions between the foreign ministers of the United States and South Korea are expected to take place around mid-January next year, at the latest, before January 20, when U.S. President Donald Trump takes office.
Song Chi-hoon, Donga.com reporter [email protected]
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