▲ Prime Minister Kim Min-seok (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) PM-US visit

(2nd LD) PM to visit U.S. this week to meet with senior officials, possibly Vance

(ATTN: UPDATES with background)

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister Kim Min-seok will visit the United States this week to meet with senior U.S. officials and lawmakers, his office said Wednesday, including a possible meeting with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance.

Kim will visit Washington and New York from Thursday to Monday on his first overseas trip as prime minister and also meet with Korean residents in the country.

Sources said a meeting with Vance is being arranged, which would allow the two sides to discuss ongoing tariff and trade issues.

Under a deal reached in November, Washington agreed to lower "reciprocal" tariffs on South Korean goods to 15 percent while Seoul agreed to invest US$350 billion in the U.S.

A new challenge has emerged, however, as Washington has since announced plans to impose separate tariffs on memory chip makers that do not build facilities in the U.S., putting additional strain on South Korean semiconductor companies.

It is rare for a prime minister to visit the U.S. alone to discuss bilateral issues, and Kim's trip suggests he will seek to help resolve the uncertainties.

"This visit is expected to positively contribute to the stable maintenance and strengthening of South Korea-U.S. relations," his office said in a press release.

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