Deputy Minister Wi Seong-lak will visit Washington, D.C., in the United States from the 6th to the 8th. This will be the first time Deputy Minister Wi visits the United States since President Lee took office.

The National Security Office stated on the 5th that "Deputy Minister Wi is expected to hold in-depth discussions with U.S. officials on various issues concerning South Korea and the United States during this visit."

President Lee Jae-myung is taking a commemorative photo after presenting the appointment letter to National Security Office Director Wi Seong-rak at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 4th. /Courtesy of the Presidential Office Photographers.

This visit also comes ahead of the expiration of the reciprocal tariff extension period set by U.S. President Donald Trump on the 8th. Therefore, there are observations that Deputy Minister Wi will facilitate discussions on tariff conditions and extension of the suspension period by contacting senior U.S. officials.

Subsequently, Deputy Minister Wi is expected to engage in discussions to coordinate the South Korea-U.S. summit, which was postponed due to unforeseen variables that arose after President Lee took office.

During the Group of Seven (G7) summit held in Alberta, Canada, from the 16th to the 18th of last month, President Lee was scheduled to meet with President Trump for the first time, but the meeting fell through as Trump returned early due to instability in the Middle East.

President Lee continued to ponder whether to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit held in The Hague, Netherlands, on the 24th to the 25th of the same month, but ultimately decided to decline attendance considering the crisis in the Middle East and domestic issues at the time.

There was also a judgement that even if President Trump attended the NATO summit, it would be difficult to address the South Korea-U.S. issues, including trade matters, in depth.

In place of President Lee, Deputy Minister Wi attended the NATO summit, where he briefly met with President Trump and had a short conversation. After returning, Deputy Minister Wi noted that "Trump's significant interest lies in cooperation in the Chosun area."

At the NATO summit, Deputy Minister Wi also had a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, reaching a consensus on the need for a timely South Korea-U.S. summit. Secretary Rubio has been reviewing his schedule to visit Korea in early this month, but for now, the visit has been canceled due to internal circumstances, including the Middle East issue.

The National Security Office stated that "a briefing on specific details is expected to take place afterward."

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