South Korea reaffirmed its willingness to make a substantive contribution to restoring free passage through the Middle East’s Strait of Hormuz, one of a number of issues discussed by Foreign Minister Cho Hyun during Friday talks in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the ministry said on Saturday.
– Cho had travelled to Washington this week for talks with Rubio and members of US Congress.
- The State Department and South Korea’s foreign ministry said they would push to ensure the swift execution of South Korea’s investment commitments in the United States.
- The allies have continued negotiations on implementing a trade agreement struck last year that included $350 billion in South Korean investments in US manufacturing in return for lowering tariffs on Korean imports to 15%.
- The two sides agreed to keep working towards denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula through diplomacy, Seoul’s ministry said, with Cho vowing to support talks between Washington and nuclear-armed North Korea.
- Rubio and Cho reinforced the importance of trilateral cooperation between the US, Japan and South Korea in safeguarding regional security, a State Department spokesperson said.