Overview

• The U.S. Department of State and South Korea’s presidential office confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s planned early July visit to Seoul will not occur in the foreseeable future.
• U.S. officials cited internal scheduling demands and pressing Middle East obligations, notably a U.S.-Israel summit, as the reason for scrapping the trip.
• Rubio’s subsequent stop in Japan was also canceled and he will proceed directly to Malaysia for the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting.
• The visit would have marked the first trip by a senior U.S. official under President Lee Jae Myung and was intended to pave the way for an early summit with President Donald Trump.
• Despite the cancellations, Seoul and Washington pledged to continue consultations on high-level exchanges and summit preparations.