Seoul: South Korea and the United States will initiate formal negotiations next week to implement security agreements reached between their leaders, as announced by Seoul's foreign ministry on Friday. A kickoff meeting is scheduled to occur in Seoul on Tuesday and Wednesday to begin follow-up consultations on the security-related portions of the joint fact sheet published in November following the summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the agenda is expected to cover Seoul's initiative to develop nuclear-powered submarines, secure capabilities for uranium enrichment, and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing for peaceful purposes, along with expanding shipbuilding cooperation between the two allies. South Korea's delegation will be led by First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo and will include officials from the presidential office and the ministries of defense, science, and industry.
The U.S. delegation will be led by Allison Hooker, U.S. under secretary of state for political affairs, and will comprise officials from the White House National Security Council, the Department of State, the Department of Energy, and additional agencies. The joint fact sheet outlines a range of commitments from both nations, including security-related issues and Seoul's US$350 billion investment pledge to the U.S. in exchange for a reduced U.S. tariff rate.
The kickoff meeting was initially expected earlier this year but was postponed as Washington concentrated on other priorities, such as the Middle East conflict, while also expressing concerns over delays in Seoul's legislative process for its investment pledge and the investigation into the e-commerce giant Coupang over a significant data breach, among other matters.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun mentioned in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Thursday that Seoul aims to swiftly revise its civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with the U.S. to allow uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing while also advancing nuclear-powered submarines and shipbuilding cooperation. Both parties have been working diligently to ensure the inaugural meeting yields substantive progress, Cho added.
In a media note, the U.S. Department of State mentioned that Hooker will lead the interagency delegation to advance "nuclear cooperation initiatives" that Trump agreed upon during his visit to South Korea in October. During her stay in Korea from Monday to Wednesday, the under secretary will also engage with her counterparts on a broad range of bilateral and global issues to strengthen the "broad" and "enduring" alliance between the two countries, including in security and economic cooperation. The U.S.-ROK Alliance is described as the linchpin of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the Indo-Pacific region. ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.