Anchor: Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told reporters that last-minute coordination is underway to arrange a summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump, suggesting the talks will be held this month. Cho just came back from Washington, where he held talks with his U.S. counterpart, Marco Rubio, and discussed how the two sides should modernize their military alliance in the face of China’s growing influence.
Kim Bum-soo has more.

Report: Foreign Minister Cho Hyun says Seoul and Washington’s current efforts to modernize their alliance will not damage relations between South Korea and China. 

Upon returning to South Korea after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Cho faced questions at the airport Sunday evening. 

[Sound bite: Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (Korean-English)]
“The modernization of the alliance is about strengthening our defense capabilities and taking various other steps amid the profound changes in the international order. I do acknowledge concerns about relations with China. However, we have clearly explained to China the need [to modernize the alliance] and the steps we will take, and we have also discussed these concerns with the U.S. I do not think this will pose a major problem.”  

Under the slogan “modernizing the alliance,” Washington is seeking ways to collaborate with its Indo-Pacific partners in a bid to contain China’s growing presence in the region.

The Cho-Rubio talks come as officials are working to arrange the first summit between Presidents Lee Jae Myung and Donald Trump at the White House.

[Sound bite: Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (Korean-English)]
“Because we are in the final stages of coordination, I cannot tell you the exact date, but coordination is well underway.”
(Reporter: “Do you think it is likely this month?”)
“Yes. It will not be delayed until next month, but I cannot give you an exact date.”   

Foreign policy experts say the American president will want to bring up the issue of the U.S. forces stationed on the Korean Peninsula and a new cost-sharing arrangement to ensure their continued presence, among other thorny topics.

With the Lee government in Seoul seeking to ease tensions with the North, discussions have emerged in Washington that Trump may reduce the number of U.S. troops here in a global readjustment of the U.S. military presence to cope effectively with China. 

As Cho walks a thin line between the U.S. and China, the top diplomat said he and Rubio did not get deeper into how that presence should evolve.

During an interview with the Washington Post, published Sunday, Cho said the American troops will remain on the peninsula and their role will remain unchanged.

Asked about the impact of a potential military drawdown on the South Korea-U.S. relationship, the top diplomat said it’s a hypothetical question and he doesn’t think it will happen.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.