Choi Jong-geon: "No disagreement with the US on establishing Korea-US Alliance Dialogue... Targeting mid-October"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Choi] Choi Jong-geon, First Vice Foreign Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized on the 12th that the first meeting of the tentative 'Alliance Dialogue,' a working-level consultation body at the director-general level between South Korean and U.S. foreign authorities, is being pushed for October, and that the U.S. is actively in agreement with the establishment of this consultation body.

Vice Minister Choi made these remarks to reporters at Incheon International Airport on his way back after visiting the United States.

He stated, "Regarding that (Alliance Dialogue), Deputy Secretary Biegun and the U.S. side expressed active agreement, and through the consultation process to promote the establishment of this new body soon, our goal is probably mid-October."

Regarding the Alliance Dialogue, Vice Minister Choi mentioned that the purpose is to handle ongoing issues requiring continuous consultation beyond the Korean Peninsula peace or North Korean nuclear issues, saying, "In that sense, the director-generals, who are the overall heads of the working level, and vice ministers want to have continuous dialogue and proceed with a sense of speed, aiming to institutionalize it."

Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced through a press release that Vice Minister Choi and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun agreed at the South Korea-U.S. Deputy Foreign Ministers' meeting on the 11th to establish the Alliance Dialogue (tentative name), a director-general level working consultation body between the two countries' foreign authorities, and decided to regularly review and cooperate on various alliance issues through this consultation body.

However, the U.S. State Department's press release issued on the 11th did not mention the Alliance Dialogue. The State Department explained, "We also discussed ways to strengthen the alliance so that the South Korea-U.S. alliance continues to be a force for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific in the future," but there was no mention of forming a new consultation body.

Meanwhile, citing sources familiar with South Korea-U.S. relations, reports emerged suggesting that "the U.S. State Department has never agreed to establish the Alliance Dialogue," raising speculation about possible communication issues between the two countries.

In response, Vice Minister Choi said, "I also saw some media reports as soon as I landed," and rebutted, "The State Department's press release and our press release can be said to have 'different content,' but press releases emphasize what each side wants to highlight, and our press release was naturally issued through consultations with the U.S. side before and after the meeting."

He added, "Therefore, it is not that 'our positions differ.' The U.S. press release includes COVID-related topics, which we did not mention. Each emphasizes important issues to them, but these are important issues to both sides."

Regarding discussions with Deputy Secretary Biegun on China during this visit to the U.S., he said, "The South Korea-U.S. relationship is based on an alliance, but we still explained our position that we are close to China and have a strategically, economically, and socially close relationship," and added, "I do not think it is a matter of '(the U.S.) forcing a choice'."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.