"Cho Hyun and Rubio both wanted the call"... Foreign Ministry dismisses 'Korea passing' concerns

S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio enter the South Korea-U. S. -Japan foreign ministers' meeting held on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related foreign ministers' meetings at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Manila, Philippines, on the 22nd of last month. Yonhap News Agency [Financial News] South Korea and the United States have moved to calm concerns over 'Korea passing' after U.
S. President Donald Trump pushed ahead with plans for a North Korea-U. S. summit in November. On the 16th, Trump said he would unilaterally scale back the ROK-U.
S. joint military exercise without consulting Seoul and would pursue a North Korea-U. S. summit in November during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, sparking controversy over whether South Korea had been sidelined. As signs of strain in the ROK-U.
S. alliance grew, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Secretary of State Marco Rubio held an urgent phone call on the 24th. It was reported that both countries had wanted the call. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Doo-sun said at a regular briefing on the 25th, in response to a question about which side had requested the call first, that "both sides wanted to speak with each other.
" The two foreign ministers also discussed denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, an issue Trump had been reluctant to address, according to the ministry. Earlier, when asked about denuclearization on the 19th, Trump said, "I don't want to talk about that," prompting assessments that the White House's commitment to denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula had faded. In addition, after Trump specified North Korea's nuclear arsenal as 57 weapons, some observers said he had effectively elevated the country to nuclear-armed status. In response, the Foreign Ministry explained that "both South Korea and the United States have consistently upheld the goals of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and denuclearization, as stated in the joint fact sheet from last November's South Korea-U.
S. summit," adding that "related discussions also took place during the recent phone call between the two foreign ministers. " The government also said it would continue making active efforts to restart North Korea-U. S.
dialogue and keep the Korean Peninsula peace process moving.
dialogue and keep the Korean Peninsula peace process moving.
[email protected] Kim Kyung-soo Reporter