South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has expressed solidarity with India over the Pahalgam terror attack and on its fight against terrorism, saying his country stands by the Indian government and the people of India.
In an interview with ANI, Cho Hyun said South Korea is firmly against terrorism.
“We are very stern and firm on this issue. We are strongly against any terrorist attack. We stand by the Indian government and the people of India,” Cho Hyun said.
India had launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India conducted precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoJK and repelled subsequent Pakistani aggression and pounded its airbases.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who had a bilateral meeting with Cho Hyun, expressed gratitude for South Korea’s condemnation of Pahalgam terror attack and recalled that the parliamentary delegation from India that went to Seoul later “got very good meetings”.
“I want to express our gratitude for the RoK’s condemnation of the terrorist attack that took place in Pahalgam on 22nd of April, and the fact that when our Parliamentary delegation went to Seoul, I think they got very good meetings, you yourself made an effort to meet them – it is something which we appreciate,” Jaishankar said.
Answering queries, Cho Hyun said the tariffs being imposed by the United States in the rapidly changing situation in global trade is not unexpected and that his country was able to sort out the problem and “make a win-win” through trade negotiations.
He said South Korea and the United States were able to strike a deal “that will again lead us to a win-win proposal”.
“This is something not unexpected given the rapidly changing situation in global trade. We were able to sort out a problem and make a win-win through these negotiations, and we were able to strike a deal that will again lead us to a win-win proposal,” he said.
US President Donald Trump had announced last month that he has reached a trade agreement with South Korea, which includes a 15 per cent tariff on South Korean exports to the United States.
Trump made the announcement on July 31 on his social media handle Truth Social.
“I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has agreed to a Full and Complete Trade Deal with the Republic of Korea. The Deal is that South Korea will give to the United States $350 Billion Dollars for Investments owned and controlled by the United States, and selected by myself, as President. Additionally, South Korea will purchase $100 Billion Dollars of LNG, or other Energy products and, further, South Korea has agreed to invest a large sum of money for their Investment purposes,” Trump had said.
“This sum will be announced within the next two weeks when the President of South Korea, Lee Jae Myung, comes to the White House for a Bilateral Meeting. I would also like to congratulate the new President on his Electoral Success. It is also agreed that South Korea will be completely OPEN TO TRADE with the United States, and that they will accept American product including Cars and Trucks, Agriculture, etc. We have agreed to a Tariff for South Korea of 15%. America will not be charged a Tariff. I would like to thank the Trade Representatives who came forward today. It was an Honor to meet them, and talk about the Great Success of their Country!” he added.
The United States has imposed 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods.
Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in July, even as there were hopes of an interim India-US trade deal that would have otherwise helped avoid elevated tariffs. A few days later, he imposed another 25 per cent tariff, taking the total to 50 per cent, citing India’s continued imports of Russian oil.
Asked about the Alaska Summit meeting between the US President and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the South Korean Foreign Minister said it was too early to assess the outcome of the meeting but stressed that avoiding conflict was crucial.
“It is too early to make any assessment of the meeting itself. We really hope that this will be the first step in the right direction. It is very important to avoid war and peace at any cost is better than war,” he said.
Cho Hyun said he had good meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday and recalled his tenure in Delhi as Ambassador from 2015 to 2017, stating that significant changes were made in India under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership and that “more good changes” have been made during the past ten years.
Cho Hyun said it is great to be back in Delhi and when he landed in the city about 10 years ago, he was humbled by the depths of India’s culture.
“I feel great to be back in Delhi and ten years ago, I landed in Delhi and I was very much humbled by the depths of the culture and the largest of the subcontinent and the people. I was very proud to serve as the Korean Ambassador to India, during which time I recognised the significant changes made in India under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership…Now I see even more good changes that have been made during the past ten years. So I’m very glad to be back here, meet my friends,” Cho Hyun said.
Cho Hyun recalled that when he served as Ambassador, he had meeting with S Jaishankar who served as Foreign Secretary from 2015-18.
He said they discussed various issues and explored ways to enhance the bilateral relationship. The Korean Foreign Minister arrived in the national capital on Friday.
“It was a good meeting and I used to meet him when I was here and he was the Foreign Secretary. We discussed various issues and explored ways to enhance our bilateral relationship, addressing both the geopolitical and geo-economic challenges our countries face,” Cho Hyun said.
In his opening remarks during meeting with the visiting South Korean leader, Jaishankar said “it’s not very often that you have a chance to welcome an old friend as a new colleague”.
“So, it’s a very special privilege to welcome you back to India. Please accept my congratulations on your appointment, you have been barely a month in the job, the fact that you are here literally a day after your National Day, and our National Day, says a lot really about the value we attach to the relationship,” Jaishankar said.
“Let me also take the opportunity to extend our greetings to you for the National Liberation Day of Korea, and your visit, I think, in many ways, comes at a very important time – it is the 10th anniversary of our Special Strategic Partnership, and I had the privilege of being with the Prime Minister when he met your President in Kananaskis in Canada. It was, by the way, a very good meeting I must tell you, they had very strong bonding,” he added. (ANI)
