U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho hyun in Washington on Thursday to discuss North Korea and the enforcement of international sanctions against Pyongyang, according to statements from both governments.
This was the first meeting between Rubio and Cho since the election of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung last month. The discussion occurred one day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a tariff agreement with Seoul and stated his intention to host president Lee at the White House within two weeks.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce confirmed in a readout that the two diplomats “reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of the DPRK [and] the full implementation of international sanctions.” The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name for north Korea.
Bruce also noted that both officials “expressed serious concerns about North korea’s increasing military cooperation with Russia.” North Korea has reportedly sent troops, artillery, and weapons to Russia to support its war in Ukraine, and in return, is believed to be receiving crucial financial aid and advanced military technology for its own weapons programs.
The diplomats “both welcomed the announcement of a full and complete trade deal and the forthcoming visit of ROK President Lee Jae Myung to Washington,” Bruce added, using the official acronym for South Korea.
South Korea’s foreign Ministry released its own account of the meeting on Friday,stating that Rubio and Cho “agreed to maintain a robust combined defense posture and firmly uphold the goal of North Korea’s complete denuclearization.”
during the meeting, Cho also extended President Lee’s invitation for President Trump to attend the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, scheduled to take place in Gyeongju from October 31 to November 1. According to the south Korean ministry, Rubio indicated that Washington “is well aware of this and will actively consider it.”
Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, North Korea dismissed the possibility of engaging in nuclear negotiations with President Trump. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader kim Jong Un, stated in a message carried by official media that “Any attempt to deny the position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state … will be thoroughly rejected.” She further emphasized that “The recognition of the irreversible position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state … should be a prerequisite for predicting and thinking everything in the future.”
