Seoul, Nov 13 (IANS) South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has asked US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to help speed up the planned release of a joint summit document on trade and security, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Thursday, amid a protracted delay in the announcement.
Cho made the request during their brief encounter that took place on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers’ meeting in Canada, as Seoul and Washington have yet to make public their joint fact sheet outlining the outcome of the recent October 29 summit talks between President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump.
The joint fact sheet is meant to outline the details concerning what the two leaders have agreed upon, including Seoul’s push to secure fuel supplies for nuclear-powered submarines and South Korea’s USD 350 billion investment pledge in exchange for the US lowering the tariff on South Korean goods to 15 per cent from 25 per cent, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Seoul officials have hinted at unfinished coordination among relevant US government agencies over “security” matters, suggesting the delay is most likely related to the nuclear-powered submarine issue.
Whether the two sides would meet has drawn attention because it could give them a chance to discuss releasing the joint fact sheet.
Cho requested that Rubio make “special efforts to facilitate a swift release of the joint fact sheet so that the agreed-upon measures can materialize,” the foreign ministry said in a message to reporters.
“Secretary Rubio said he will actively coordinate with relevant US agencies to help ensure the joint fact sheet is released as swiftly as possible,” the ministry said.
Both Cho and Rubio attended the two-day gathering in the Niagara Region, Ontario, from Tuesday (local time), where South Korea was invited as a guest nation, along with Brazil, India and a few others.
During the multilateral gathering, Cho held separate bilateral talks with his counterparts of Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the European Union (EU) and Germany on the sidelines and discussed bilateral ties, efforts to strengthen economic and other cooperation, as well as the regional and global geopolitical situations, the ministry said.
In meetings with his German and EU counterparts, Cho highlighted Seoul’s peace initiative aimed at easing inter-Korean tensions and asked for their support in efforts toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Cho participated in two expanded G7 ministerial sessions related to maritime and energy security and critical minerals.
Cho stressed the importance of ensuring the maritime order based on international laws and called for greater cooperation in the implementation of relevant laws to protect key maritime infrastructure, such as undersea cables.
–IANS
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