Top diplomats from South Korea, US meet ahead of Lee's upcoming summit with Trump

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun left and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shake hands during their bilateral meeting in Washington on August 1 2025 Yonhap — South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (left) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during their meeting in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 1, 2025. Yonhap

SEOUL, August 1 (AJP) - South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Thursday for their first talks since President Lee Jae-myung took office in early June.

Stressing the unwavering alliance between the two countries, Cho and Rubio reaffirmed their commitment to achieving the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and expressed concern over the deepening military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.

They also agreed to strengthen trilateral cooperation with Japan to address various regional issues and challenges.

But their meeting drew particular attention here as it came just ahead of Lee's impending trip to the U.S. for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming weeks.

After finalizing a tariff-related deal the previous day, Trump said the scope of the agreement would be "announced within the next two weeks when [Lee] comes to the White House for a bilateral meeting."

Given these circumstances, Cho and Rubio are believed to have discussed a possible date for the first biliteral meeting between the two leaders, while fine-tuning the summit's agenda and making other arrangements.

Im Yoon-seo lyseo0330@ajupress.com