S. Korean, US top diplomats discuss alliance advancement ahead of Lee-Trump summit: State Dept.

WASHINGTON/SEOUL — The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States discussed ways to advance the bilateral alliance during their talks in Washington, D.C., on Friday, a State Department spokesperson said, as they fine-tuned the agenda for the planned summit between Presidents Lee Jae Myung and Donald Trump. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Secretary of State Marco Rubio held the talks just three days ahead of the summit, where Lee and Trump are expected to discuss joint efforts to "modernize" the bilateral alliance at a time when Washington focuses on deterring an increasingly assertive China. "Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Cho discussed ways to advance the U.S.-ROK alliance centered on a forward-looking agenda that enhances deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, increases our collective burden sharing, helps to revitalize American manufacturing, and restores fairness and reciprocity in our trade relationship," principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a readout. ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. The two sides also reiterated the importanWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times