Rubio Opens With Warning to South Korean Foreign Minister: 'The Mood in the US Isn’t Good'

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, when he recently met with South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, is said to have placed particular emphasis on negative sentiment within the US government over tariff negotiations.

Cho disclosed details of his July 3 meeting with Rubio at a briefing for South Korean correspondents held in Washington, DC, on the 5th (local time). According to Cho, before the talks began Rubio said, “It’s not that the US-ROK relationship is in a bad place, but I want to speak candidly and share that the mood within the US side is not good regarding the implementation of trade-related commitments.”

Rubio also told Cho that while trade and investment are not under his direct remit, he is overseeing the broader US-ROK relationship and wanted to convey the message. Cho said Rubio added that they should “manage the situation well through closer communication between the foreign affairs authorities so that delays in implementing (Korea’s) trade agreement do not allow negative sentiment to spread across the broader US-ROK relationship.” Cho said he responded by explaining that the South Korean government’s commitment to implementation is firm and that it is “absolutely not true” that it is deliberately slowing the pace of legislation or anything of the sort.

Cho said he made clear that trade issues must not hamper cooperation in other areas such as security. He also said he asked Rubio to encourage relevant US agencies to ensure faithful consultations on three key items agreed for US-ROK cooperation—nuclear energy, nuclear-powered submarines and shipbuilding. Cho added that Rubio said, “Given its nature and procedural requirements, a joint fact sheet will inevitably have to be led by the State Department and the White House National Security Council (NSC), so I will look after it.”

At the key minerals meeting, the main focus of the visit, Cho met with US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer and said Greer “understands the fallout that a re-hike in tariffs (on Korea) could cause, but stressed that it is important for Korea to quickly show a more forward-leaning position not only on strategic investment (into the US) but also on issues related to non-tariff barriers.” The US side is seeking eased quarantine requirements and faster customs clearance procedures to increase South Korean imports of US agricultural and livestock products. In response, the South Korean government is moving quickly to put measures in place, including recently revising import requirements for processing and table potatoes from 11 US states.

In a meeting with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, the two sides reaffirmed a shared understanding to produce concrete progress between the allies in uranium enrichment, reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and nuclear-powered submarines. A government official said discussions with Wright also covered the issue of lifting South Korea’s designation as a “sensitive country.”

Washington=Correspondent Lee Sang-eun selee@hankyung.com