New U.S. envoy starts making the rounds

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Philip Goldberg speaks with Foreign Minister Park Jin at the ministry headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Philip Goldberg said he looked forward to expanding Washington’s cooperation with Seoul on not only defense and security but also issues of wider regional consequences such as supply chain resilience in a meeting with Foreign Minister Park Jin in Seoul on Tuesday.

“[As] you mentioned and I can say that the alliance between the United States and Korea has been and continues to be a bedrock of security here in the Korean Peninsula, and also in the region,” said Goldberg at the ministry headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday.

“And now, thanks to our two presidents, and the communique that they issued when President [Joe] Biden was here in Seoul, we are embarked on a global strategic partnership, one that is so important to the security and economic wellbeing of our two countries.”

Goldberg arrived in Seoul on Sunday as the new American ambassador to Korea, and submitted a copy of his credentials to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday morning. The official submission of his credentials to President Yoon Suk-yeol has yet to be scheduled.

In the meeting, Park highlighted what he called “common values” between the United States and Korea such as respect for human rights, freedom, democracy and the rule of law.

“These are the core values that bridge Washington and Seoul,” Park said, adding that he expects their global comprehensive strategic alliance to develop further based on these values.

“Before us, there are economic and security challenges such as the nuclear missile problem [of North Korea] and changes in the supply chain as well as the pandemic,” Park said. “The Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance will only become stronger as we take on these challenges together.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Goldberg visited the Japanese Embassy’s public information and cultural center in Seoul to pay his respects at a memorial altar for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Goldberg was scheduled to speak on the topic of diversity at the Seoul Queer Culture Festival this Saturday.

The U.S. ambassador position had been vacant for nearly two years.

Goldberg is a career ambassador, the highest rank in the U.S. Foreign Service, having served as ambassador to the Philippines and Bolivia before heading the mission in Colombia from 2019 to last month.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]