South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo and U.S. Under Secretary of State Allison Hooker held talks in Seoul on Friday, marking their first vice-ministerial strategic dialogue in over four years.

During the 10th South Korea–U.S. Strategic Dialogue, the officials discussed modernizing the alliance, strengthening cooperation in sectors such as shipbuilding, critical minerals, energy and emerging technologies, and reaffirmed the importance of trilateral coordination with Japan.

Both sides also expressed a shared commitment to North Korea’s complete denuclearization and agreed to maintain a unified approach toward deterring Pyongyang’s destabilizing actions.

Hooker underscored the “unwavering strength of the Korea–U.S. alliance,” calling it the “linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity” in the Indo-Pacific region for more than seven decades.

She also reaffirmed Washington’s firm commitment to extended deterrence and to further bolster the two nations' combined defense posture.

The meeting likely touched on preparations for a bilateral summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump later this month on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju.