The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed concerns about the possibility that the United States would abandon its denuclearization goal in negotiations on the North Korean nuclear issue, emphasizing that South Korea and the United States still aim for the complete denuclearization of North Korea. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed this point during a phone call, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated that peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula are consistent goals of the international community. Meanwhile, the South Korean government expressed regret through diplomatic channels regarding the United States' unilateral directive to reduce the 'Ulji Freedom Shield' exercise. The two countries promoted a foreign ministers' phone call as an opportunity from this incident and plan to continue their efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through close communication and cooperation between South Korea and the United States.
