In anticipation of the upcoming trilateral summit between South Korea, China, and Japan on the 27th, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cho Tae Yul, met with the visiting former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. They discussed mutual interests such as the South Korean-U.S. alliance, South Korean-U.S.-Japanese cooperation, and North Korean nuclear issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 23rd.
Cho had a wide-ranging discussion on denuclearization with Pompeo, who has experience negotiating with North Korea, considering the perspective on the difficulties in specifically mentioning issues such as North Korea and Taiwan at the trilateral summit. Recently, Cho, who has been managing relations with China, has also put effort into South Korean-U.S. cooperation for substantial progress in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue during the trilateral meeting.
Cho praised Pompeo’s efforts to advance denuclearization in North Korea and enhance South Korean-U.S. relations during his tenure. Pompeo also stated that the South Korean-U.S. alliance is strongly developing under President Yoon Suk Yeol’s leadership. He further addressed an expectation that regardless of which administration takes office in the U.S., the emphasis on the South Korean-U.S. alliance and the U.S.’s extended deterrence towards Korea will continue to be strengthened.
Back in the Trump administration, they exchanged a wide range of views on promoting the process of the North Korea-U.S. summit and denuclearization negotiations. They notably agreed on the need to reference lessons from that time to achieve complete denuclearization of North Korea.
Pompeo highly evaluated Yoon’s leadership and determination to develop South Korea-Japan relations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveyed that Pompeo continuously addressed the importance of strengthening South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation based on past efforts.
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