Top diplomats from South Korea and the United States have agreed to set a date to swiftly hold an in-person meeting.

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reached the agreement over the phone on Saturday while exchanging views on the impeachment crisis in South Korea and the Seoul-Washington alliance.

According to Seoul's foreign ministry, Cho suggested that the two sides make efforts to maintain and enhance the alliance, despite the South Korean government being run under acting president Han Duck-soo after the recent impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The minister also called to further develop achievements made in cooperation between the allies, as well as within a trilateral framework involving Japan under the incoming Donald Trump administration.

Blinken, for his part, said the U.S. has full confidence in the acting president as being a competent and respected leader, adding that Washington highly assesses and trusts South Korea's democracy and its resilience.

The U.S. diplomat reaffirmed that Washington's ironclad defense pledges concerning Seoul remains unchanged, calling to closely communicate and coordinate policies through the end of the Biden presidency.

A face-to-face meeting between the two foreign ministers is expected to be held by mid-January at the latest.