South Korea’s foreign ministry building in Seoul (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
WASHINGTON, July 11 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea and the United States held talks this week in Seoul to discuss ways to “modernize” the bilateral alliance in a “mutually beneficial” manner and strengthen it into a “future-oriented” and “comprehensive strategic” one, the two sides said Friday.
The consultations on Thursday and Friday came as U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has been calling on allies and partners to bolster their “burden sharing” while striving to prioritize deterring the “pacing threat” from an increasingly assertive China.
“The two sides discussed ways to strengthen the U.S.-ROK Alliance into a future-oriented, comprehensive strategic alliance, and to modernize the Alliance in a mutually beneficial manner in the face of an evolving regional security environment,” the two countries’ joint press release read.
ROK stands for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.
Hong Jee-pio, director general for North American affairs at Seoul’s foreign ministry, and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kevin Kim led the consultations.
Key U.S. and South Korean foreign affairs and defense officials also participated in the talks.
(Yonhap)
