WASHINGTON — U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau mentioned on Wednesday that South Korea and the USA have opened a “new chapter” of their alliance with the discharge of a joint reality sheet on bilateral safety and commerce agreements.
On Thursday (Washington time), the 2 international locations launched the doc outlining the outcomes of the 2 summits that President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump held on the White Home in August and in Korea’s southeastern metropolis of Gyeongju final month forward of the Asia-Pacific Financial Cooperation summit.
“Only recently, yesterday, our two international locations launched a historic joint reality sheet on President Trump’s historic state go to to Korea on the finish of October, inaugurating a brand new chapter within the U.S.-Korea alliance,” Landau mentioned throughout a discussion board co-hosted by the Atlantic Council and the Korea Society.
“I encourage all of you to learn that reality sheet intently, as a result of it lays out our joint priorities for the connection within the years to come back,” he added.
The senior diplomat mentioned that the priorities embrace rebuilding and increasing vital industries, sustaining international change market stability, enhancing industrial ties, selling reciprocal commerce, modernizing the bilateral alliance and furthering the 2 international locations’ maritime and nuclear partnerships.
Noting that the 2 in-person summit conferences have taken place, Landau mentioned that Trump has a “nice” relationship with Lee.
He additionally burdened that in Trump’s state go to to Korea final month, he secured “billions of {dollars} for the American economic system in “landmark” offers.
“These efforts acknowledge Korea as one of many main buyers in the USA, and can help American jobs, gasoline America’s vitality exports, promote trusted expertise and strengthen our maritime partnership,” he mentioned.
Noting the Trump administration’s drive to revitalize American manufacturing, Landau mentioned that South Korea is “completely very important to this effort.”
“We want Korea’s funding in key sectors, together with shipbuilding, vitality, semiconductors, prescribed drugs, vital minerals and AI Quantum,” he mentioned.
“We additionally want Korea’s assist in getting these investments up and operating, sending consultants on short-term visas who can train our nice American staff the best way to run these precision manufacturing amenities,” he added.
Landau described the immigration crackdown on Korean staff at a Korean battery manufacturing unit building website in Georgia in September as a “regrettable incident,” whereas bearing on his journey to Seoul in the identical month, throughout which he mentioned he pledged to repair the U.S. visa system to stop the incident from occurring once more.
“President Trump has been very, very clear. He welcomes Koreans to come back to our nation to coach American staff in these high-precision jobs,” he mentioned. “Clearly, you can not ask for international locations to make vital investments in our economic system and never count on them to ship folks over to implement these investments and make them a actuality.”
He underscored that there have been “very fast strides” towards stopping a repeat of the September incident by establishing a particular desk on the U.S. Embassy in Seoul and dealing on making a visa class to permit folks to come back and prepare American staff consistent with U.S. immigration legal guidelines.
