Munich: The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States met one-on-one Saturday for the first time since the launch of the second Donald Trump administration, with the bilateral alliance, North Korea, and Trump’s tariff plans expected to be in focus. Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, as South Korea is seeking to ensure a smooth path in its ties with the new Trump administration rolling out bold tariff policies while remaining less clear about its approach to North Korea.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the talks also came at a time when Seoul is working to continue its diplomatic engagement in the wake of the shocking martial law attempt by now-impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol in early December last year. Trump’s announcement on plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum, and weighing of new tariffs on vehicles and chips, have called on the need for swift coordination with Washington amid concerns South Korea could be the next target of Trump’s tariff policies.
South Korea’s foreign ministry said earlier “bilateral economic cooperation” would be one of the key topics of their discussions, along with North Korean nuclear issues and trilateral cooperation with Japan. Upon arriving in Munich on Friday (local time), Cho said that he will seek to explore in his talks with Rubio a solution to the issue of the Trump administration’s planned and potential tariffs on South Korea.
Cho indicated that the discussions will touch on strategic cooperation in areas including the shipbuilding industry, atomic energy, semiconductor, and artificial intelligence. Cho stressed he plans to highlight the importance of South Korea’s role for the alliance and how its contributions align with Trump’s vision to make America great again.
At the talks, the minister was also expected to use the occasion to reaffirm the bilateral alliance with Washington, and the U.S. commitment to deterring North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. Cho was likely to discuss with Rubio coordination on the U.S. policy approach to North Korea’s denuclearization under the second Trump term, in a way that it will remain the allies’ shared goal.
The issue of the North’s denuclearization has drawn attention after Trump and his officials referred to Pyongyang as a “nuclear power,” sparking a debate in Seoul over the possibility of the U.S. recognizing the reclusive regime as a nuclear weapons state. Trump later reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the “complete denuclearization of North Korea” at the recent summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Following their talks, Cho will join Rubio and their Japanese counterpart, Takeshi Iwaya, at the same venue for a trilateral meeting. The three sides were expected to highlight the importance of maintaining and advancing the three-way cooperation. Cho’s three-day visit to the German city also marks his first overseas trip since the martial law debacle.