US-South Korea unite around North Korea

The United States and South Korea have agreed to continue close communication and cooperation to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. The South Korean Foreign Ministry reported this information on Tuesday (August 25), citing a report by Yonhap.

The agreement was reached in a phone conversation between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyang-in. The discussion emphasized the need to deal with regional crises by maintaining a joint defense system. However, the official statements of the two countries did not mention any specific plans for denuclearizing North Korea.

US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said that Rubio spoke about the need to maintain close coordination to protect the interests of the two countries' joint alliance. On the other hand, Cho Hyang-in expressed hope that US President Donald Trump's recent initiative could restart talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Trump is interested in meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in Shenzhen, China, in November. The two foreign ministers also discussed tariffs, investment agreements, bilateral security and peace in the Middle East.