![Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (left) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/08/25/news-p.v1.20260825.23a240894b0d4bd5acabbdf572563725_P1.jpg)
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio agreed to strengthen cooperation on Korean Peninsula peace and resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue in their first phone call since Donald Trump ordered a scaling back of joint military exercises. However, the word "denuclearization" — which could serve as a precondition for any resumption of US-North Korea talks — was not mentioned.
The two ministers spoke late Monday and agreed to maintain a robust combined defense posture while sustaining close communication and coordination on Korean Peninsula peace and the North Korean nuclear issue. Cho said South Korea would do its utmost to ensure that Trump's recent messages could lead to the resumption of US-North Korea dialogue and peace on the peninsula.
The call appeared intended to dispel concerns raised in some quarters about South Korea being sidelined during any US-North Korea dialogue process, or about the North's nuclear capabilities being tacitly accepted. Yet the absence of "denuclearization" has fueled fears of a "bad deal" — one in which North Korea is effectively recognized as an undeclared nuclear state, with only threats to US security, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles, eliminated while the rest of Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal remains intact.
Shin Bum-chul, a senior research fellow at the Sejong Institute, said Tuesday that while the call addressed resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue, it placed greater weight on dialogue resumption and peace, raising concerns that North Korea's denuclearization could be pushed down the list of priorities in the South Korea-US alliance's agenda.
The two ministers also agreed to work toward mutually beneficial outcomes across a range of bilateral issues — including tariffs and investment agreements, shipbuilding and security cooperation — and to further elevate the South Korea-US relationship, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Some observers had earlier suggested that Trump's unilateral decision to scale back joint military exercises stemmed in part from dissatisfaction with delays in South Korea's investment commitments to the United States and the dispatch of a warship to the Strait of Hormuz.
Speculation also arose that during Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Kim Jung-kwan's recent US visit, the American side had raised the subject of Honam Semiconductor and pressed for semiconductor investment.
Cheong Wa Dae pushed back on that account, saying it was "not true" that the US side had brought up Honam Semiconductor and raised the issue of semiconductor investment during discussions on South Korea's strategic investment in the United States in the course of Kim's visit.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Cho told Rubio that South Korea appreciated Trump's and the United States' active leadership in resolving Middle East issues, and emphasized Seoul's willingness to make a tangible contribution to restoring freedom of navigation in the strait, proposing that the two sides continue to consult on specific measures.
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