Seoul: Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul is seeking his first in-person meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich next week, as his trip to Washington now appears unlikely, diplomatic sources said Thursday. Cho's office had earlier indicated that discussions were ongoing with Washington to arrange what would be the first talks between Cho and Rubio since the launch of the Donald Trump administration.
According to Yonhap News Agency, if the meeting materializes, Cho was widely expected to travel to Washington next week before flying to Germany for the Munich Security Conference slated for February 14-16. However, the plan may change as the likelihood of meeting his U.S. counterpart in Washington appears slim, a source mentioned. Rubio is anticipated to accompany President Trump during separate bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jordan's King Abdullah in the U.S. capital next week.
If Rubio attends the Munich conference, it will likely serve as the venue for his first talks with Cho, the source added. The U.S. State Department has yet to announce whether Rubio will attend the Munich session. Media reports have indicated that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance will be attending the artificial intelligence summit in Paris and the Munich security conference in his first overseas trips since taking office.
At the previous year's Munich conference, then Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined then Vice President Kamala Harris for the gathering. Cho's potential meeting with his U.S. counterpart has garnered attention as it would be their first discussion on key issues, including the alliance and North Korea, since the political turmoil in South Korea sparked by the now impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law bid.
Following his expected trip to Munich, Cho is likely to travel to Johannesburg for the foreign ministers' meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) nations. Rubio announced Wednesday that he will not be attending the G20 meeting in South Africa, days after President Trump stated he will cut off funding to the African country over its land ownership policy, which he claimed was treating its people "very badly."