Photo : YONHAP News
Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo told reporters in Washington on Wednesday that South Korea and the United States are committed to accelerating security cooperation, as noted in a joint fact sheet issued by Seoul and Washington in November.
During a news briefing in Washington on Wednesday local time, Park said he met with White House Deputy National Security Advisor Andy Baker and other officials, who said the NSC will support the swift implementation of the security section of the joint fact sheet.
The envoy was visiting Washington for talks largely focused on implementing the joint fact sheet outlining security and trade agreements from last year’s summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, Park met with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker, after which Washington announced that she will lead a U.S. interagency delegation in the coming weeks to launch bilateral working groups to implement the fact sheet in the security domain.
The security portion of the fact sheet includes U.S. cooperation in South Korea’s initiative to develop nuclear-powered submarines and secure rights for civil uranium enrichment and the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel.
Park described the planned launch of these working groups as a reflection of the two countries’ commitment to accelerate security cooperation.