▲ Prime Minister Kim Min-seok attends a task force meeting at the government complex in Seoul on March 10, 2026, to advance South Korea's efforts to host a U.N. hub for artificial intelligence-related projects. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) PM-US-Switzerland

(LEAD) PM set to visit U.S. for talks on U.N. hub, possible meeting with Vance

(ATTN: UPDATES with possible meeting with U.S. vice president; CHANGES headline)

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, March 12 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister Kim Min-seok is set to depart for the United States on Thursday to promote South Korea's bid to host a U.N. hub and meet with senior U.S. officials, possibly including Vice President JD Vance.

Kim's weeklong trip, which will also take him to Geneva, Switzerland, comes as the government is bidding to host the tentatively named "U.N. AI hub," an initiative aimed at bringing together U.N. bodies, and South Korea's private and public sectors to produce AI-based solutions to global issues.

A meeting with Vance is being arranged for his stop in Washington, sources said, which he could use to discuss tariffs and other bilateral issues, including a bill supporting South Korea's US$350 billion investment commitment to the U.S.

The bill is set to be passed by the National Assembly later Thursday.

Kim and Vance previously met in January, also in Washington.

From the U.S. capital, the prime minister will travel to New York, where he plans to visit the U.N., UNICEF and the United Nations Development Program to meet with heads of organizations, including U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, to discuss the AI hub plan.

In Geneva, he plans to visit the World Health Organization, the International Labor Organization and the International Organization for Migration, for similar discussions.

The prime minister was this week named head of the U.N. AI hub bid committee.

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