▲ South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo (R) arrives at Dulles International Airport near Washington on May 18, 2026. (Yonhap)

S Korean diplomat-US visit

Senior S. Korean diplomat visits Washington for talks on nuclear sub project, other issues

By Song Sang-ho and Park Sung-min

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo arrived in Washington on Monday for talks with senior U.S. officials, as Seoul seeks to accelerate implementation of last year's bilateral security and other agreements.

Park plans to meet Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker on Tuesday and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on Wednesday.

His arrival came amid concerns over the seemingly slow implementation of agreements from last year's summit between Presidents Lee Jae Myung and Donald Trump, including U.S. cooperation with Seoul's efforts to build nuclear-powered submarines and secure rights to civil uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing.

His trip also followed last week's summit talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, during which they confirmed the shared goal of denuclearizing North Korea.

"I've come here to follow up on and discuss a range of pending bilateral issues between South Korea and the United States," Park told reporters upon arrival at Dulles International Airport near Washington.

"In addition, I will exchange views on regional and global issues given that there has been much change in the regional landscape."

Park described the bilateral agreements on Seoul's nuclear-powered submarine project and its push to secure uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing rights as "very historic" ones that would "upgrade" the bilateral alliance.

"There have been various efforts to establish implementation consultation bodies, and after those efforts have borne fruit, we are now at a stage where we have to discuss implementation matters," he said. "We have had close consultations, and I will continue to make efforts along the same lines."

On the agreement by Trump and Xi over the goal of denuclearizing North Korea, the diplomat said that "constructive" consultations between the U.S. and China appear to have created a "good momentum."

"From our perspective, that is an outcome, and I will seek to ensure that it has a positive effect as we deal with Korean Peninsula issues and the South Korea–U.S. relationship," he said.

During planned talks with his counterparts, Park is also expected to discuss ongoing U.S. trade investigations into South Korea that could result in new tariffs, as well as Washington's reported reduction of intelligence sharing with Seoul in response to what it sees as a classified information leak by a Seoul official.

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