Seoul: Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo met with a delegation from the Washington-based Stimson Center on Thursday to discuss the South Korea-U.S. alliance, Korean Peninsula issues, and other regional and global affairs, the foreign ministry said.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the three-member delegation from the U.S. foreign policy and national security think tank is led by the center's acting President and CEO Rachel Stohl. Park emphasized the importance of garnering broad support for the alliance within U.S. academic and policy circles to implement the joint fact sheet adopted by the two countries' leaders last year and to further advance bilateral cooperation.
Park urged the center to play an active role in promoting understanding of the alliance and Korean Peninsula issues. The delegation expressed their close attention to bilateral cooperation in areas such as shipbuilding and defense industries, committing to explore ways to help implement key agreements and promote future-oriented cooperation between the allies.
The joint fact sheet, adopted after last year's summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump, covers a range of bilateral commitments on trade, investment, and security, including South Korea's US$350 billion investment pledge in the United States. Under the agreement, the two nations are discussing revisions to the Korea-U.S. nuclear energy agreement, known as the 123 Agreement, to allow South Korea to enrich uranium and reprocess spent fuel, as well as South Korea's push to develop nuclear-powered submarines.