Washington: The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States held talks in Washington on Thursday for the first time since the launch of President Lee Jae Myung’s administration last month, as the allies face a range of cooperation issues, including preparations for a summit between their leaders. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met at the State Department, just a day after President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Korea, saying that his summit with Lee will take place at the White House in two weeks.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the chief diplomats were expected to discuss coordination on North Korea’s advancing nuclear threats and efforts to craft a shared understanding of the future direction of the bilateral alliance, as well as other regional and global issues. During a press briefing, Tommy Pigott, the State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, announced the meeting between the top diplomats, while commenting on the trade deal between Seoul an
d Washington. “This (trade) agreement, as the secretary is meeting today with ROK Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, reflects the unwavering strength of the U.S.-ROK alliance, which has served as the linchpin of peace, security and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific for more than 70 years,” he said.

ROK stands for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea. Observers said that Cho and Rubio might use part of their meeting to discuss the agenda and the timing of a summit between Lee and Trump. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, part of Korea’s trade negotiation delegation, told reporters Wednesday that Trump wanted to meet with Lee and directed Rubio to arrange a summit at an early date.