Cho stresses 'close communication' to Rubio in phone call after Trump’s remarks on North Korea talks

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and  U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in a phone call late Monday that "close communication" between South Korea and the United States is more important than ever amid recent shifts in the international situation, Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The two envoys exchanged views on South Korea-U.S. relations, Korean Peninsula affairs and global affairs, according to a readout from Seoul's Foreign Ministry. Their last phone call was in March.

The conversation came as the allies work to stabilize relations rattled by a social media post from U.S. President Donald Trump on Aug. 16 — and remarks to reporters the following day, in which he took issue with Seoul's response to the Iran conflict and ordered a reduction of the allies' major summertime joint military exercise, citing his good ties with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The two top envoys agreed to maintain a robust combined defense posture while continuing close coordination toward peace on the Korean Peninsula and resolving the North Korean nuclear issue. Cho said Seoul would do its utmost to help ensure Trump's recent messaging leads to a resumption of dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.

Rubio briefed Cho on the situation in the Middle East, including Iran, and on U.S. efforts to restore regional peace and stability. Cho praised Trump's leadership on Middle East issues and reiterated South Korea's willingness to make a substantive contribution toward restoring free passage through the Strait of Hormuz — a key route for global oil shipments — proposing continued consultations on specifics.

Writing on his Truth Social platform on Aug. 16, Trump said he had recently asked South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for Korea's help with the U.S. denuclearization of Iran, and that Lee had turned him down. On Aug. 17, Trump told  reporters he asked Seoul to "give us a little hand" if it wanted to on Iran, though the United States didn't need it — to which Lee replied, "No, thanks."

Seoul has said it has continued to coordinate with Washington on the Middle East response.

In the same post, Trump ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to scale back the Ulchi Freedom Shield, the allies' annual military exercise that simulates a full-scale defense of South Korea against a North Korean attack, and claimed the joint drills were "costly." 

The exercise, which began on Aug. 17, was originally scheduled to run 11 days through Thursday. It ended on Friday instead, with field training curtailed and a second phase simulating a counteroffensive dropped altogether.

Cho told lawmakers on Wednesday that neither the Korean government nor U.S. officials were aware of Trump's order before his post, and that Seoul had not been notified in advance either. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back gave a similar account the same day.

Cho said that he did not consider the outcome a unilateral U.S. move, since Ahn had coordinated closely with U.S. counterparts once the post became public. It nonetheless stirred concern in Seoul over whether communication within the alliance's combined defense arrangements had frayed.

Cho relayed to Rubio Monday that the "South Korean government would do its utmost to ensure that President Trump's recent message leads to the resumption of North Korea-U.S. dialogue and peace on the Korean Peninsula," his ministry said. 

The two diplomats agreed to meet in person soon for more in-depth talks on the alliance's major issues.

BY SEO JI-EUN   [[email protected]]