FM Cho eyes meeting with Rubio in Munich as Washington trip unlikely

▲ In this file photo, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul reviews a handout at an interagency government meeting in Seoul on Jan. 16, 2025. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

S Korea-US-top diplomats

FM Cho eyes meeting with Rubio in Munich as Washington trip unlikely

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Yonhap) -- Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul is seeking his first in-person meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich next week, as his trip to Washington now appears unlikely, diplomatic sources said Thursday.

Cho's office said earlier discussions were ongoing with Washington to arrange what would be the first talks between Cho and Rubio since the launch of the Donald Trump administration.

If realized, Cho was widely expected to travel to Washington next week, before flying to Germany for the Munich Security Conference slated for Feb. 14-16.

However, the plan may change as the chance of meeting his U.S. counterpart in Washington appears slim, a source said

Rubio is expected to accompany Trump when the president meets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jordan's King Abdullah for separate bilateral talks in the U.S. capital next week.

If Rubio attends the Munich conference, it will likely serve as the venue for his first talks with Cho, according to the source.

The U.S. State Department has yet to announce whether Rubio will attend the Munich session. Media reports have said U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance will be attending the artificial intelligence summit in Paris and the Munich security conference in his first overseas trips since he took office.

At last year's Munich conference, then Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined then Vice President Kamala Harris for the gathering.

Cho's potential meeting with his U.S. counterpart has drawn attention as it would be their first discussion on key issues, including the alliance and North Korea, since the political turmoil in the South sparked by now impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law bid.

Following his expected trip to Munich, Cho will likely travel to Johannesburg for the foreign ministers' meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) nations.

Rubio said Wednesday he will not be attending the G20 meeting in South Africa, days after Trump said he will cut off funding to the African country over its land ownership policy that he said was treating its people "very badly."

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