Seoul envoy headed for US with deals, Hormuz on agenda

Seoul’s top diplomat is set to meet his US counterpart in Washington this week, officials said Wednesday, with billions in deals and a possible Hormuz deployment on the agenda.

Foreign minister Cho Hyun is due to depart on Thursday for a trip that will run until Saturday, and includes talks with secretary of state Marco Rubio, Seoul’s foreign ministry said.

South Korea committed to US$350 billion in US investments under a deal struck last year to avoid the worst of president Donald Trump’s tariffs, but specific projects and final terms were still being negotiated.

Seoul is also weighing a possible military deployment to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which has become a central point of contention in the war Israel and the US launched on Iran.

Trump has heavily pressured ally South Korea to help, but Iran has warned Seoul to stay out of the key waterway.

“The two sides will discuss a wide range of issues, including South Korea-US relations, the Korean Peninsula and regional and global issues,” Seoul’s foreign ministry said.