Reciprocal tariffs to rebalance imbalance in trade, open doors for new negotiations: Rubio

And against the backdrop of heightened trade uncertainties amid U.S. tariffs on all imports into its market the foreign ministers of South Korea the U.S. and Japan sat down in Brussels on the margins of a NATO meeting.

And as Lee Seung-jae says security and trade concerns topped the agenda of the latest talks.

The top envoys of Seoul, Washington and Tokyo held talks in Brussels on Thursday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his reciprocal tariffs.

The meeting between Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya took place on the sidelines of a foreign ministerial meeting of members of NATO and its partner countries.

According to Seoul's foreign ministry, Cho expressed deep concern over the U.S. reciprocal tariffs, asking the U.S. to consider the implications for the alliance, as well as investments in the U.S.

In response, Rubio reiterated President Trump's stance, that the reciprocal tariffs have been introduced to readjust the trade imbalance.

However, the U.S. Secretary of State stressed that it's now important to hold new negotiations based on the readjusted levies, raising the possibility that talks could take place between Seoul and Washington on adjusting the 25-percent tariff.

Meanwhile, foreign minister Cho also called for cooperation among NATO member countries in dealing with the North Korea-Russia military alliance, which he says could lead to a "security decoupling" between the U.S. and its allies.

He further called on member countries to prevent Pyongyang from believing it can secure advanced military technology that can directly threaten the global community.

Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.