Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun (left) on July 31 shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the U.S. State Department compound in Washington. (Minister of Foreign Affairs)
By Xu Aiying
Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun on July 31 attended his first summit with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the U.S. Department of State in Washington.
Both diplomats discussed their bilateral alliance, trilateral cooperation with Japan, North Korea and other regional issues.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "Both ministers in their summit reaffirmed the Korea-U.S. alliance as the core axis of peace, stability and prosperity of not only the Korean Peninsula but also the region."
Minister Cho said, "As well as the two axes of security and economy that form the basis of our bilateral alliance, we hope to develop as the third axis of bilateral cooperation a technological alliance based on collaboration in cutting-edge sectors sectors like artificial intelligence, nuclear power and quantum science."
They agreed that the stable development of friendly and cooperative ties between Korea and Japan is an important foundation for trilateral cooperation with the U.S., pledging to continue developing such three-way ties backed by the firm Korea-U.S. alliance.
Both ministers also reaffirmed their joint commitment to keeping North Korea from going nuclear. They agreed to share mutual evaluations of related issues and maintain close bilateral communication and collaboration on the topic.
In trade, they welcomed the conclusion of bilateral tariff negotiations and agreed to closely work together to details like schedules to ensure a successful summit between the leaders of both countries and fruitful outcomes.
Minister Cho reminded Secretary Rubio of Seoul's invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit slated for October in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, requesting American support and cooperation for a successful hosting.
Secretary Rubio said he was well aware of this and would actively consider it.
xuaiy@korea.kr
