SKorea industry minister to visit US to discuss tariffs,sensitive country status

19/3/2025 19:01

South Korea's industry minister will visit Washington, D.C. this week to discuss with top U.S. officials the country's concern over being placed on a U.S. watchlist and to push for fair treatment on tariffs, the industry ministry said on Wednesday.



The U.S. Department of Energy designation of South Korea as a "sensitive country" sparked controversy in Seoul, with the U.S. ally put on the lowest tier of a watchlist that includes China, Iran and North Korea among others.



Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun would "seek measures to quickly resolve the sensitive country designation issue," the ministry said in a statement.



Ahn's visit was an important opportunity, Foreign Minister Cho Ta-yul told lawmakers on Wednesday, when questioned about whether he thought Washington could be persuaded to remove South Korea from the watchlist.



Joseph Yun, the acting U.S. ambassador in Seoul, said on Tuesday that South Korea was added on the list because visitors to the energy department's labs mishandled sensitive information.