South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul held a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on February 15 in Munich, Germany on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. The Cho-Rubio bilateral meeting is the first meeting between the top diplomats of South Korea and the United States since Donald Trump reassumed the presidency in January. 

During the meeting, which lasted about 40 minutes, Rubio offered assurances over the U.S. defense commitment to South Korea while reiterating Washington’s conventional policy toward North Korea – which is seeking the complete denuclearization of North Korea. Trump has earlier made reference to North Korea as a nuclear power, raising concerns in Seoul that his administration would abandon the long-standing goal of seeing the country denuclearize.

For his part, Cho confirmed the country’s unchanged position to strengthen ties and enhance coordination with the U.S. to cope with the advanced military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. However, Cho also expressed the South’s concerns over Trump’s tariff threat. Trump........

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