U.S. Vice President JD Vance reportedly warned South Korea not to target e-commerce giant Coupang and other U.S. tech companies during a recent meeting with Prime Minister Kim Min-seok.

Sources told the Wall Street Journal in a report published Tuesday that Vance had warned Kim not to penalize Coupang and other U.S. tech firms during a meeting between the two in Washington last week. 

According to the report, Vance also told Kim that the U.S. was seeking meaningful relief from the South Korean government's treatment of technology companies such as Coupang.

The newspaper said the conversation had occurred only days before trade tensions between the two countries reached a peak.

On Monday, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he would raise tariffs on South Korean products, including automobiles, from 15 percent to 25 percent, criticizing delays in the South Korean National Assembly’s passage of legislation required to implement Seoul’s U.S. investments pledged under the allies' bilateral trade agreement.