Minister Ahn Duk-geun of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on the 20th, “Rather than hastily concluding negotiations, there are matters to address, and the two countries will continue discussions to resolve them amicably.”
Minister Ahn appeared on the KBS Sunday Diagnosis program that day and, in response to a question regarding the upcoming U.S.-Korea high-level trade negotiations, noted, “We are approaching it carefully.”
Minister Ahn stated, “We plan to exert all efforts to eliminate tariffs on key export items to the U.S., including automobiles and semiconductors.”
However, Minister Ahn predicted that this negotiation will be difficult to conclude in the short term. He emphasized, “The tariff policy of the Trump administration is not yet over, and there is a possibility that tariff issues will persist throughout the Trump administration,” adding, “Resolving everything now doesn’t mean the situation will be settled, so it is essential to continue the framework of negotiations.”
In response to a question about whether President Trump might appear in the negotiations with the U.S. as he did during talks with Japan, Minister Ahn replied, “I am keeping that possibility in mind,” stating, “I believe the situation could develop similarly to Japan’s, and we are preparing for such scenarios.”
Minister Ahn expressed hope that the Trump administration’s classification of South Korea and Japan among five priority negotiating countries could be positive for us.
He mentioned, “In negotiations, the side in a hurry usually has more room for acceptance,” adding, “If we present precise economic and industrial visions, such as those for the shipbuilding and energy industries, and specifically address the trade imbalance issues they are concerned about, I believe we can achieve good results.”
As the U.S. raised defense cost issues in prior negotiations with Japan, Minister Ahn explained that while the U.S. has not yet proposed discussing defense cost matters, he is keeping in mind the possibility it may arise in the future.
Minister Ahn stated, “There has been no proposal from the U.S. side regarding the discussion of defense cost issues so far,” adding, “If such a topic comes up, we plan to listen closely to the U.S. position and relay it to the relevant authorities for appropriate response.”
Regarding President Trump's interest in South Korea's participation in the Alaska LNG project, Minister Ahn mentioned that while they will consider participation from an energy security perspective, the U.S. plans are still not concrete, necessitating a cautious approach including local inspections.
Minister Ahn noted, “The government is approaching this from an energy security perspective and is not pursuing that project solely for tariff negotiations,” adding, “It seems that the Alaska side also has aspects of the project that need refinement; therefore, there are many things that cannot be understood from just the plan they proposed, and we want to go verify those aspects.”