S Korea-US-FM talks

SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in France on Tuesday to discuss North Korea and bilateral issues, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

Cho held a pull-aside meeting with Rubio on the sidelines of a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers' meeting and "exchanged views on overall bilateral relations, high-level exchanges and North Korea-related issues," the ministry said, without disclosing other details.

Tuesday's meeting marked the first in-person encounter between the two foreign ministers since the results of the U.S. midterm elections were announced on Nov. 4.

The meeting came as the South Korean Cabinet approved a bill earlier in the day seeking parliamentary consent for the government's plan to expand the operational scope of its anti-piracy Cheonghae unit from waters off the Somali coast to areas closer to the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called on South Korea and other countries to help secure the vital waterway, which remains effectively blocked amid the U.S.-Iran war.

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