With clock winding down, new Finance Minister heads to Washington for tariff meeting on Friday

South Korea's ministers of economy and trade are scheduled to sit down for TWO-PLUS-TWO trade talks with their American counterparts in the U.S. on Friday.

Our correspondent Kim Do-yeon starts us off.

South Korea and the United States will hold 2-plus-2 high-level talks on tariffs this Friday in the U.S., ahead of the August 1st deadline with 25-percent tariffs set to start.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol confirmed the meeting on Tuesday, following a meeting of external economic ministers behind closed doors.

"With the August 1st deadline fast approaching, all relevant ministries are operating as one team — crafting a meticulous strategy and mounting a full-scale response to protect national interests."

This will be the first meeting between the two sides' top finance chiefs with Koo having just been appointed to the position last week as Seoul seeks to lower the announced tariff rate.

And at the request of the U.S., South Korea's trade minister not its industry minister will attend the talks alongside the Deputy Prime Minister for this session, confirming the counterparts will be Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

For Minister of Trade Yeo Han-koo, this is his third trip to Washington since his tenure began.

Leaving first on Tuesday afternoon, the Trade Minister stressed that the nation is currently in a very "grave period," adding, "All scenarios — both best-and worst-case — remain on the table, so we will do our utmost to reflect our sensitive interests and maximize national interests."

Meanwhile, Seoul's Industry and Foreign Ministers are also seeking separate meetings in the U.S. with their American counterparts.

The meeting and the announcement came just hours after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in an interview with CNBC, stressed that Washington will not rush into any deal.

He said , "The important thing here is the quality of the deal, not the timing of the deals,"

and added that their trading partners were told that the rates could "boomerang back" toward the April 2nd levels.

When asked whether the deadline could be extended again, Bessent hinted that even if the tariffs go into effect next month, negotiations could continue.

Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News.