U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Friday in Washington. Their meeting focused on topics such as defence cost-sharing and fair trade, in preparation for an upcoming summit between the two nations.

The leaders of both countries—U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung—are scheduled to meet in Washington on Monday.

According to a statement from the U.S. State Department, Rubio and Cho discussed strengthening the U.S.–South Korea alliance through a shared vision aimed at boosting deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region, promoting equitable burden-sharing, revitalising American industry, and ensuring fairness in bilateral trade.