South Korea and the United States have agreed to swiftly launch working groups to implement recent summit agreements, including nuclear-powered submarines and civil uranium enrichment rights. In their first high-level follow-up talks, both sides emphasized advancing trade, investment, and security cooperation. The agreement builds on the joint fact sheet from August and October summits.
In talks held in Washington on Monday (local time), South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau agreed on the need to swiftly initiate sectoral working groups to ensure the swift and thorough implementation of follow-up measures in key areas such as nuclear energy, shipbuilding, and nuclear-powered submarines. The foreign ministry stated, "The vice minister and the deputy secretary agreed on the need to swiftly initiate sectoral working groups to ensure the swift and thorough implementation of follow-up measures in key areas."
Park requested the prompt initiation of Seoul-Washington talks on civil uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing capabilities, to which Landau responded that the two countries "should continue to communicate closely on the matter." This follows the joint fact sheet released on Nov. 14, outlining commitments from the August and October summits between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump on trade, investment, security, and other issues.
The fact sheet indicates U.S. support for South Korea's civil uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing for peaceful use, consistent with their bilateral nuclear energy pact and subject to U.S. legal requirements. The U.S. has also approved South Korea to build nuclear-powered attack submarines and committed to advancing fuel sourcing requirements. Under the bilateral 123 Agreement, South Korea may only enrich uranium or reprocess spent fuel with U.S. consent.
The two sides agreed to advance follow-up talks on nuclear-powered submarines and shipbuilding cooperation in earnest. Park explained Seoul's efforts to implement fact sheet commitments and requested corresponding U.S. measures, including lowering tariffs on South Korean goods. On the U.S. visa system, Park noted progress with a dedicated visa desk for Korean businesses.
Speaking to reporters after the talks, Park said, "The U.S. will assign its representatives, and we will create our own task force to coordinate with them." Park also met separately with State Department Korea affairs officials and White House National Security Council members to discuss summit follow-up steps and North Korea-related issues.
In a separate readout, the U.S. State Department stated that the two sides discussed the implementation of the joint fact sheet, including commitments to modernize the alliance and shipbuilding cooperation. Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said, "They discussed the implementation of the U.S.-ROK Joint Fact Sheet, which includes modernizing the U.S.-ROK Alliance — the linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the Indo-Pacific region for more than 70 years."
Meanwhile, on the same day in Seoul, ruling Democratic Party of Korea leader Rep. Jung Chung-rae met with acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kevin Kim, stressing the alliance as "unbreakable" and "rock-solid." Jung referred to the nuclear-powered submarines approval from the October summit and urged deeper cooperation in shipbuilding and semiconductors. They also discussed South Korea's democracy ahead of the first anniversary of the Dec. 3 martial law bid, with Kim reaffirming U.S. support for South Korea's democratic resilience.
In another development, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed the retroactive application of lowered 15% tariffs on Korean autos from Nov. 1, part of the Oct. 29 Gyeongju summit trade deal tied to South Korea's $350 billion U.S. investment pledge. The facilitating bill was introduced in the National Assembly on Nov. 26.
