Government of South Korea: "U.S. has not requested support from the ROK Armed Forces"... Seoul urges visiting State Department official to ensure no unfavorable treatment under Section 301

[Financial News] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that in its meeting on the 12th with Michael George DeSombre, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, who is visiting South Korea, it requested that South Korea not be treated less favorably than other major countries in connection with the investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. By contrast, the ministry drew a clear line, saying there was no U.S. request for rear-area support from the Republic of Korea Armed Forces (ROK Armed Forces) in the Iran War, which had been a matter of concern.
On the same day at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Assistant Secretary Michael DeSombre held separate meetings with Vice Foreign Minister Jeong Ui-hye and Park Jong-han, Coordinator for Economic Diplomacy, and paid a courtesy call on Jung Yeon-doo, Director-General for Diplomatic Intelligence. Right after meeting with Assistant Secretary DeSombre, Vice Minister Jeong said, "More than 80% of our conversation was about follow-up measures to the agreements reached between the leaders of South Korea and the United States," and added, "There was no request for support from the ROK Armed Forces."
Discussions on the Middle East and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) remained at a general level. However, as Assistant Secretary DeSombre is scheduled to stay in South Korea until the 15th, additional talks could take place over the remaining three days.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it asked Assistant Secretary DeSombre that "any measures taken following the results of the investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 must not undermine the balance of benefits secured in existing South Korea–U.S. tariff consultations, and South Korea must not be treated less favorably than other major countries."
Vice Minister Jeong also noted, "It was clear that the U.S. side is paying close attention to the issue of Coupang." According to the ministry, during the bilateral meeting that day, the U.S. side first raised the topic related to Coupang. The U.S. reportedly asked South Korea to ensure that Coupang is not subject to discriminatory treatment. They also discussed matters related to electric vehicle (EV) subsidies.
In addition, Assistant Secretary DeSombre expressed interest in the passage of the Special Act on Investment in the United States (Daemi Investment Special Act) at the plenary session of the National Assembly.
Given that Assistant Secretary DeSombre is not the official in charge of Middle East affairs, it appears that there was no in-depth discussion on the Iran War.
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "We asked the U.S. side to pay attention to cooperation between the two countries regarding the evacuation of Korean nationals residing abroad from the Iran region, and agreed to work together on this."
Coinciding with Assistant Secretary DeSombre’s visit to South Korea, Im Gap-su, Government Representative for ROK–U.S. Nuclear Energy Cooperation, also traveled to Washington, D.C. Im is scheduled to meet officials in charge of the Bureau of Energy Resources and the Office of Multilateral Nuclear and Security Affairs at the United States Department of State (DOS) to discuss ways to enhance South Korea–United States cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.

rainman@fnnews.com Reporter Kim Kyung-soo Reporter