South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held high-level meetings with US senators and White House officials in Washington this week to reinforce the bilateral alliance and discuss regional security issues, including North Korea’s nuclear threat. The meetings came just days after Seoul and Washington concluded a new tariff agreement.

Cho met Senators Bill Hagerty, Pete Ricketts, and spoke by phone with Senator Dan Sullivan. He also engaged with Senators Roger Wicker and Jim Risch, key figures in US defense and foreign policy. Discussions focused on deepening economic and strategic ties under the recently finalized tariff deal.

Under the agreement, the United States will reduce its reciprocal tariff rate on South Korean goods from 25% to 15%. In exchange, South Korea has committed to investing $350 billion in American industries, including shipbuilding, energy, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence.

During his talks, Cho emphasized the Lee Jae Myung administration’s commitment to strengthening the alliance across three core pillars: security, economy, and science and technology. He highlighted South Korea’s interest in enhancing strategic cooperation with the US, especially in high-tech sectors.

Senators expressed strong bipartisan support for the South Korea-US alliance, pledging to ensure continued close collaboration between the two nations.

Cho’s visit underscores the importance of US-South Korea ties amid growing geopolitical tensions in East Asia and ongoing concerns over North Korea’s missile and nuclear activities. His talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the week further solidified shared goals in both economic and security spheres.