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Foreign minister clarifies Korea's stance on legislation for U.S. investment, tariff threats

Published: 06 Feb. 2026, 10:44 Updated: 08 Feb. 2026, 18:07

SEO JI-EUN
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Foreign Minister Cho Hyun attends a briefing on the results of his U.S. visit at the Korean Embassy in Washington on Feb. 5. [YONHAP]

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said he made it clear to U.S. officials that Korea is not intentionally delaying legislation tied to a special bill on investment in the United States, pushing back against concerns that have fueled renewed tariff threats.

Cho, who is currently visiting the United States, made the remarks during a briefing with Korean press corps at the Korean Embassy in Washington on Thursday. He said he conveyed this message during talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday.

Cho’s comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that tariffs could be raised from 15 percent to 25 percent again, citing Korea’s failure to pass the special investment bill.

According to Cho, Rubio said at the outset of the meeting that while Korea-U.S. relations were not in a bad state, he wanted to candidly share that there was growing dissatisfaction within the U.S. administration over the implementation of trade-related commitments.

Cho said Rubio made clear that trade and investment issues do not fall directly under his purview, but that he was raising the matter because of its broader implications for bilateral relations. Rubio suggested that the two sides maintain closer communication at the diplomatic level to prevent negative sentiment stemming from delays in trade agreement implementation from spreading to other areas of the Korea-U.S. alliance.

It is unusual for a foreign minister to publicly recount a counterpart’s candid remarks from a closed-door diplomatic meeting on a sensitive point of contention. But Cho’s disclosure came the same day Wi Sung-lac, the presidential national security adviser, warned that the security track is now being buffeted because the tariff pillar has started to wobble.

“The collapse in tariff negotiations is already affecting follow-up talks in the security realm — including discussions related to nuclear-powered submarines and issues involving uranium enrichment and the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel,” Wi said in an interview with the Kyunghyang Shinmun published Thursday. “A [U.S. security negotiating team] should have been in South Korea by now for consultations, but that the process has been delayed.”

Cho and Wi, described together as the Lee Jae Myung administration’s two main foreign-policy pillars, delivered near-simultaneous warnings that the Korea-U.S. relationship is flashing caution signals.

Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio shake hands upon meeting for bilateral talks at the State Department in Washington on Feb. 3. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The foreign minister said he responded by stressing the Korean government’s firm commitment to implementing the bilateral agreements and clarifying that there was no intention to slow the legislative process. He added that he shared details of Seoul’s efforts and domestic circumstances related to the swift implementation of the trade deal.

Cho also told Rubio that the joint fact sheet produced following the leaders’ summit last year had been negotiated from the outset along two pillars — economic and security issues — and that implementation timelines could differ by issue. He emphasized that cooperation in security and other areas should not be undermined by trade-related concerns.

He added that he asked Rubio to encourage relevant U.S. agencies to engage fully on three key areas of bilateral cooperation: nuclear energy, nuclear-powered submarines and shipbuilding.

According to Cho, Rubio agreed that delays in implementing bilateral agreements were not in the interest of either side and said he would closely follow up, noting that the joint fact sheet, by its nature and procedure, falls under the responsibility of the State Department and the White House National Security Council.

Cho also said he met the previous day with U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer to exchange views on the implementation of the Korea-U.S. tariff agreement.

According to Cho, Greer acknowledged the potential fallout from reinstating tariffs on Korea but stressed the importance of Seoul demonstrating progress quickly, not only on strategic investments in the United States but also on issues related to nontariff barriers.

Cho added that in talks with U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, the two sides reaffirmed a shared understanding on making concrete progress in cooperation on uranium enrichment, spent nuclear fuel reprocessing and nuclear-powered submarines.

UPDATE, Feb. 8: Updated with comments from Wi Sung-lac, the presidential national security adviser, made in a media interview published Thursday.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON, SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]