S. Korea holds "last ditch" tariff talks with U.S. as deadline approaches

High-level trade talks between officials here and their American counterparts under the TWO-PLUS-TWO framework scheduled for this Friday in the U.S. have been cancelled.

Park Kun-woo has the latest.

Just about an hour before departing for the U.S. on Thursday, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol was notified that the 2+2 high-level meeting had been canceled.

The meeting, originally scheduled for Friday, was to have been between Minister Koo and chief free trade negotiator Yeo Han-koo, and their U.S. counterparts -Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

According to the finance ministry, the cancellation was due to Bessent's urgent schedule, though no specific details from the U.S. were disclosed.

The ministry also said the U.S. proposed rescheduling the meeting for the near future, and both sides will now work to set a new date as soon as possible.

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan's two days of meetings with Trump administration figures, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, are set to proceed as scheduled from today.

That comes following the U.S. reaching a deal with Japan to lower tariff rates from 25 percent to 15 percent.

On questions about the deal between the U.S. and Japan, Minister Kim said it was too early to make any judgments.

"We're carefully examining the U.S.-Japan deal to determine how we should respond. Some elements we can refer to, while others need more of a comparison."

Speaking on Trump's latest remarks, warning that countries unwilling to open their markets won't see any tariff relief, Kim said this has been Trump's consistent stance, and the government has been closely monitoring the situation.

He said his visit can be described as a "full court press," aiming not only for tariff cuts but also to bolster cooperation in key strategic sectors, such as manufacturing and energy.

With Trump's deadline for "reciprocal" tariffs approaching, South Korea is entering the final stages of negotiations with Washington to possibly achieve a breakthrough.

Park Kun-woo, Arirang News.