Washington: The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States met in Washington on Friday to discuss advancing their bilateral alliance. This meeting comes as part of preparations for the upcoming summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump, focusing on modernizing the alliance amid growing concerns over China.

According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held discussions aimed at enhancing the U.S.-ROK alliance. The agenda includes increasing deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, boosting collective burden sharing, revitalizing American manufacturing, and ensuring fairness and reciprocity in trade relations, as stated by Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott.

The talks also emphasized the importance of trilateral cooperation with Japan. Both Cho and Rubio underscored the enduring strength of the U.S.-ROK alliance, which Pigott described as a crucial pillar of peace, security, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and across the Indo-Pacific for over seventy years.