Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul speaks during a press conference with local media at the foreign ministry building in Seoul on Dec. 15, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will make sure it has plans in place to engage with the incoming U.S. administration under President-elect Donald Trump, should stalled nuclear talks with North Korea resume, Seoul’s top diplomat said Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul made the remarks in a press conference with foreign correspondents in Seoul, reaffirming the country’s readiness to firmly respond to any provocations by Pyongyang based on its robust alliance with Washington.
“We will prepare plans and roadmaps before the incoming U.S. administration takes office, which will help us brace for the possibility of the U.S. negotiations with North Korea,” Cho said in the opening remarks.
“We will manage Korean Peninsula affairs in a stable manner, while remaining as ready as ever to respond firmly in the event of North Korea’s provocations,” he said.
During his first term, Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un three times for nuclear negotiations, but the talks have remained deadlocked since their Hanoi summit broke down in early 2019.
In a recent interview with U.S. magazine TIME, Trump boasted again that he gets along “very well” with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, while claiming that he is the “only one” that Kim has ever dealt with.
Wednesday’s press availability, also joined by Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, came as South Korea is seeking to dispel concerns over delays and disruptions in the running of state affairs following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment over his botched martial law imposition.
Yoon is suspended from duties and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has taken over as the acting president.
“We will do everything we can to bring normalcy back to our diplomacy and rebuild the trust of the international community,” Cho said. “We will ensure that our foreign policy and national security leave no room for error.”
Cho said the ministry will also work to keep the momentum alive for trilateral cooperation with the U.S. and Japan, reaffirming commitment to make progress in preparations with Japan for next year’s 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
(Yonhap)
