TURKISH CENTER for ASIA PACIFIC STUDIES
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Yonhap) -- Senior diplomats of South Korea and the United States held talks Friday to discuss the modernization of the bilateral alliance, North Korean nuclear issues, economic cooperation and visa matters, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-Joo held a "strategic dialogue" session with Allison Hooker, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, to discuss pending issues ahead of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, according to the foreign ministry.
It marked the first such vice foreign ministerial talks between the two nations since July 2021.
During the session, Park and Hooker agreed to closely coordinate on North Korea-related policies while adhering to the principle of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the ministry said in a release.
The two sides also shared the consensus that the trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan is crucial for peace and stability in the region amid rapidly changing global circumstances, and vowed to continue working together to further materialize such cooperation.
They also pledged to expand collaboration not only in security and economic realms but also in advanced technologies and people-to-people exchanges between the two nations.
The officials highly evaluated the outcome of the inaugural meeting of the newly launched visa working group held last month, including the establishment of a dedicated desk at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul and the effective utilization of B-1 short-term business visas. They agreed to hold follow-up consultations promptly to produce tangible results.
Hooker said the U.S. highly values the positive impact of Korean investment in the U.S. and emphasized that efforts will continue to ensure South Korean nationals can conduct stable investment activities, the ministry said.
The visa issue has been a key agenda item for the allies after more than 310 Korean workers were arrested in a U.S. immigration raid at a battery plant construction site for a joint Hyundai-LG Energy Solution venture in Georgia on Sept. 4. They were released later.
According to a press release by the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, the two sides "pledged to maintain a unified approach toward the DPRK's destabilizing actions, including through the shared commitment to the complete denuclearization of the DPRK," referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Hooker described the Seoul-Washington alliance as "the linchpin of peace, security and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and across the Indo-Pacific," reaffirming the U.S.' commitment to strengthening the relationship "through a strong combined defense posture and the continued assurance of U.S. extended deterrence" to South Korea, the embassy said.
The meeting came ahead of the APEC summit scheduled for Oct. 31-Nov. 1 in the South Korean southeastern city of Gyeongju, where the leaders of the two nations are expected to hold talks on the sidelines.
The U.S. has been pushing to modernize the decades-old alliance in a bid to expand Seoul's defense posture beyond the Korean Peninsula to deter China's threats. It includes readjusting the role and size of U.S. forces stationed in South Korea under a concept known as "strategic flexibility."
Speculation is growing that U.S. President Donald Trump may make a one-day visit to South Korea on Nov. 29 for his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and leave Gyeongju without attending the APEC summit.
By Oh Seok-min
Source: Yonhap News Agency
Vice FMs of S. Korea, U.S. discuss alliance modernization, N. Korea, visa issues
October 10, 2025