U.S. not yet on board with Korea's no-fly zone push as divergences stoke concerns over ties
Published: 24 Feb. 2026, 18:53
Updated: 24 Feb. 2026, 19:53
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- SEO JI-EUN
- [email protected]
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![South Korean officials attend the Korea-U.S. summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Aug. 25, 2025, in this photo provided by the White House. Front row, from left: National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac; Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Kim Jeong-gwan; and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. Back row, from left: Presidential spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung; Korean Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha; and presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/02/24/a62194c7-92d9-48fe-b1b1-55e42c652078.jpg)
South Korean officials attend the Korea-U.S. summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Aug. 25, 2025, in this photo provided by the White House. Front row, from left: National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac; Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Kim Jeong-gwan; and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. Back row, from left: Presidential spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung; Korean Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha; and presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom. [NEWS1]
A senior South Korean government official said Tuesday that the United States has not yet agreed to Seoul’s push to restore a no-fly zone under an inter-Korean military accord, exposing lingering differences between the allies despite recent optimism emanating from the minister of unification.
“The U.S. side has not yet agreed, and close consultations are currently underway,” the official said in a closed-door briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul.
The no-fly zone, tied to Seoul’s broader intent to revive elements of the Sept. 19 inter-Korean military agreement of 2018 as part of its policies to reduce border tensions, has emerged as another variable intersecting with U.S. concerns about potential gaps in technical reconnaissance. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young publicly put restoring the Sept. 19 pact, including re-designating a no-fly zone, on the table on Wednesday after expressing regret over unauthorized civilian drone flights into North Korea.
Separately, United States Forces Korea reportedly voiced reluctance over what it views as South Korea’s abrupt notice that the annual Freedom Shield exercise would be scaled down, according to local media reports, adding to strains in alliance coordination.
The remarks came as the senior government official sought to tamp down speculation that follow-up Seoul-Washington consultations — including talks involving nuclear-powered submarines and broader bilateral cooperation on nuclear energy and shipbuilding, in line with the implementation of a joint fact sheet that Seoul and Washington released in November of last year outlining agreements in the security and trade sectors — are being delayed for political reasons.
The official stressed that the delay is “a simple scheduling issue” and said a planned visit to Seoul by a pan-government U.S. negotiating team — initially expected in late February or early March — is now being delayed due to Washington’s crowded agenda.
“U.S. political circumstances are hard to predict, and there are multiple complicated issues — the possibility of a war breaking out with Iran, Ukraine ceasefire discussions and preparations for a U.S.-China summit,” the official said, adding that there is also “a technical issue” because the agenda requires interagency coordination such as among the U.S. Department of Energy, the Department of State and the National Security Council.
“If this is misread, it could fuel needless worries that there is a problem with implementing the joint fact sheet that the two sides produced after a successful leaders’ summit,” the official said, adding that Seoul is also keeping open the option of visiting Washington directly if the U.S. team’s trip continues to face delays.
The official also said Seoul has sought to ease U.S. concerns about delays in the National Assembly’s legislative process related to investment in the United States, stressing it should not be viewed as a “delaying tactic” but rather a democratic “due process.”
![President Lee Jae Myung, right, watches as U.S. President Donald Trump signs the guestbook ahead of their summit at the Gyeongju National Museum in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Oct. 29, 2025. [BLUE HOUSE]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/02/24/bce48277-dbf8-464f-ae74-bad20b7079c2.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, right, watches as U.S. President Donald Trump signs the guestbook ahead of their summit at the Gyeongju National Museum in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Oct. 29, 2025. [BLUE HOUSE]
Cho later told the National Assembly during a government questioning session on Feb. 9 that Greer warned tariffs would have to rise unless South Korea improves what the United States views as "nontariff" barriers — such as Seoul’s push for online platform regulations that would affect U.S. tech firms including the U.S.-listed e-commerce company Coupang.
The South Korean foreign minister is set to depart for Canada to attend a “two-plus-two” meeting of foreign and defense ministers on Wednesday.
The meeting is expected to include the signing of an agreement on the protection of classified defense information, while Seoul also plans high-level outreach to support its bid for a Canadian submarine procurement project worth 60 trillion won ($41 billion), going head-to-head with Germany.
"The government has been making an all-out effort to win Canada’s submarine procurement project," Cho told reporters at the ministry on Tuesday. "Through this meeting as well, we plan to provide the necessary materials and do our best to help move it toward a successful outcome."
BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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