Consensus on Korea's exclusion

[Anchor]

It seems that the United States and South Korea have reached a consensus on excluding South Korea from the U.S. government's list of sensitive countries.

While we have overcome one hurdle, it is uncertain whether the exclusion process can be completed before it takes effect on the 15th of next month.

Kim Ji-sook reports from Washington.

[Report]

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun was dispatched back to Washington after three weeks.

He met with the U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and agreed to resolve the issue of South Korea being on the sensitive countries list promptly through proper procedures.

It appears that they reached a consensus to exclude South Korea from the sensitive country designation.

However, it remains uncertain whether the exclusion measures will be completed by the 15th of next month, when the designation as a sensitive country is finalized.

Diplomatic sources have indicated that the U.S. side will need time to proceed with administrative procedures, making it difficult for a decision to be made before the designation takes effect.

Our government has stated that it will ensure there are no disruptions to scientific and technological cooperation even before the exclusion from the list.

[Ahn Duk-geun/Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy: "We plan to find the best solutions to ensure that scientific and industrial cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. is not hindered as much as possible."]

Minister Ahn will also meet with Commerce Secretary Howard Rutnick to discuss mutual tariff issues, which are expected to be announced on the 2nd of next month.

[Caroline Levitt/White House Spokesperson: "President will be highlighting the unfair trade practices, the ways in which America has been ripped off by every country around the world quite frankly. And there will be big tariffs that will be going into effect."]

The South Korean government has assessed that the likelihood of being exempt from tariffs is quite low from the beginning and plans to continuously persuade the U.S. regarding the value of cooperation with South Korea.

The White House has utilized South Korean companies to promote its tariff policy, mentioning Hyundai's factory in Georgia, which is set to be completed next week, suggesting that if companies want to avoid tariffs, they should invest in the U.S.

This is Kim Ji-sook reporting for KBS News from Washington.