Washington says trade talks with S. Korea scheduled for next week

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that trade negotiations with South Korea could take place next week.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Bessent said that the U.S. held talks with Vietnam last week, with Japan scheduled for Wednesday, and South Korea penciled in for "next week."

He added that negotiations will proceed quickly.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the Trump administration is prioritizing negotiations with South Korea, the United Kingdom, Australia, India and Japan.

Meanwhile, Seoul's industry minister, Ahn Duk-geun, could visit the U.S. as early as next week for negotiations with Washington.

He's expected to seek an exemption from the sweeping U.S. reciprocal tariffs.