Acting President of South Korea, Han Duck-soo, stated at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the expected trade talks with the United States this week will help pave the way for a mutually beneficial solution. He noted that through these talks, the South Korean government aims to further strengthen the alliance between South Korea and the U.S., and anticipates achieving significant results in the future.
It is reported that South Korea's Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Sang-mok and Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn De-geun will attend a joint meeting in Washington on April 24th to discuss with U.S. Treasury Secretary Besent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Han Duck-soo emphasized that this meeting was arranged at the request of the United States.
Before departure, Choi Sang-mok told the media that one of the purposes of this visit is to further strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance, and he hopes to create more cooperation opportunities through dialogue. Ahn De-geun will depart for the talks on Wednesday. The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy also revealed that discussions with the U.S. side on the agenda are ongoing, but specific details have not been confirmed.
South Korean officials pointed out that cooperation in the shipbuilding sector is a major issue for South Korea in these talks, and participation in the Alaska natural gas project may also be part of the negotiations. However, the issue of defense costs is not included in the agenda for these talks.
Through this trade negotiation, South Korea hopes to reach a consensus with the United States in several key areas, further promote economic cooperation between the two countries, and ensure the continued development of South Korea-U.S. relations.
