U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs, David Stilwell, is in Seoul for a series of meetings with South Korean officials.<br />His visit has drawn more attention than it might normally do.... as a joint military intel-sharing pact between Seoul and Tokyo is set to lapse within weeks and it's a pact Washington wants extended.<br />For more, we have our Kim Min-ji on the line.<br />Min-ji, we hear Stilwell has already met with officials at the foreign ministry?<br /><br />That's right. First up for the Assistant Secretary of State was a meeting this morning with Seoul's foreign minister and vice foreign minister.<br />While not much about that meeting is known yet,... Stilwell told reporters that key issues in their bilateral relationship were discussed.<br />He stressed the U.S. sees the meeting between President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as an encouraging sign.<br />If you recall,... Moon and Abe had a roughly 10-minute conversation on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Bangkok a couple of days back.<br />Stilwell also emphasized that the South Korea-U.S. alliance is the linchpin of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region.<br />A lot of attention is on the message he will deliver regarding Seoul's decision to pull out of GSOMIA, the intel-sharing pact with Tokyo.<br />In August, Seoul decided not to extend the pact... in response to Japan's economic retaliation over a court ruling ordering Japanese firms to compensate South Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor.<br />During his three-day visit.... Stilwell will also hold talks with officials from the presidential office and the defense ministry.<br />Upon his arrival last night,... Stilwell said he hopes to have productive talks... and reaffirm the strong alliance that he called the cornerstone of regional security.<br />Back to you.<br />
