Tillerson's visit to Seoul to provide 'good' chance to share experiences on N. Korea

Published : Mar 14, 2017 - 09:29 Updated : Mar 14, 2017 - 09:29

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's planned visit to South Korea this week will provide a "good" opportunity for Seoul to share its experiences on North Korea and its nuclear threats with the fledgling Donald Trump administration, a government official said Monday.

Tillerson will come to South Korea on Friday as part of his first Asia tour since inauguration that will also take him to Japan and China. He is to have meetings with senior government officials during his two-day stay here including talks with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (L) meets with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (Yonhap)

"With a policy review on North Korea is under way in Washington, (Tillerson's visit) will give us a good opportunity to share our diverse experiences on the North that we have accumulated for decades and provide our input," the government official told on condition of anonymity.

Tillerson's visit is timed with mounting anxiety over the North's additional provocations along with the deepening friction between South Korea and China over the deployment of a US missile defense system called THAAD.

China has been stepping up its retaliation against South Korea mostly in the business sector as Seoul and Washington are going ahead with their plan to install a THAAD battery on the peninsula to better counter threats from the North. Beijing has objected to the plan, saying its powerful radar system will hurt its strategic security interests.

The official said that THAAD and China's retaliation against South Korea will be one of the major topics that Tillerson will discuss with Foreign Minister Yun when they meet on Friday. (Yonhap)