Prime Minister Kim Minseok to Visit U.S. on 22nd... Expected to Meet with Vice President JD Vance

Prime Minister Kim Minseok will depart on the 22nd to visit Washington, D.C. and New York in the United States. This marks his first overseas trip since taking office in July of last year. While there, he is expected to hold talks with U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

Prime Minister Kim Minseok. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 21st, the Office of the Prime Minister announced, "Prime Minister Kim will visit the United States from the 22nd to the 26th, following a two-night, five-day schedule. During this visit, he is scheduled to meet with senior U.S. government officials, hold a meeting with members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and attend a gathering with Korean residents in the U.S."

A sitting prime minister's visit to the United States is extremely rare. In the past, then-Prime Minister Kim Jongpil attended the memorial service for former U.S. President Harry Truman in 1973, but since the introduction of the direct presidential election system in 1987, this is virtually the first such visit.

If Prime Minister Kim and Vice President Vance meet, it will mark the first meeting between the "second-in-command" officials of both countries, following two summits between President Lee Jaemyung and President Donald Trump that took place last year in both the United States and South Korea. Communication between the two countries at various levels is expected to be strengthened, as Kang Hunsik, Chief Presidential Secretary, is also establishing a "hotline" with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

An official from the Prime Minister's Office added, "This visit to the United States is expected to make a positive contribution to the stable continuation and strengthening of Korea-U.S. relations."