S. Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol holds talks with Lutnick on first day in U.S.

Ahead of the trade deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for this Friday, South Korea's top economic and trade officials, and even major business leaders, are in Washington as they make last-minute efforts to reach an agreement with the United States.

Our Byeon Ye-young starts us off.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol , Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan , and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo held talks in Washington, D.C. with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday, local time.

The talks lasted about two hours.

Koo is in Washington aiming to finalize a tariff deal before the U.S. reciprocal tariffs on South Korea come into effect on August 1.

He immediately began talks with Secretary Lutnick despite only his meeting with Treasury Secretary Bessent on July 31st having been publicly disclosed.

Upon landing, Koo had told reporters that Korea will explain its economic cooperation proposals clearly, especially in areas like shipbuilding.

"We'll explain economic cooperation projects between Korea and the U.S., including shipbuilding, which the U.S. is interested in. We'll make the case that forming an alliance with Korea brings major benefits to the U.S. as well. I believe their understanding of this has improved a lot."

According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. side had urged South Korea to bring its "best and final" trade offer to the table during a recent meeting with Korea's industry and trade ministers in Scotland.

Lutnick reportedly told Korean officials that they need to "bring it all" when meeting President Trump, who still wants to be convinced why a new deal with Korea is necessary, given that the U.S. has already struck trade agreements with the EU, Japan, and the UK.

With just two days left before the tariff decision, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is also set to arrive in the U.S., bringing the scope of the Korea-U.S. talks into the diplomatic sphere.

Cho is scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio the day after his arrival.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong has also arrived in Washington and is expected to support the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations from the sidelines.

Byeon Ye-young, Arirang News.