Key facts
- Cho and Rubio held a pull-aside meeting on the sidelines of a G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Paris.
- South Korea's foreign ministry said the talks covered bilateral relations, high-level exchanges and North Korea-related issues.
- Rubio said on X that the two held a productive conversation on the bilateral relationship.
- Seoul and Washington have yet to make substantial progress on follow-up consultations to October 2025 summit commitments.
- South Korea's Cabinet approved a bill to widen the Cheonghae anti-piracy unit's operational scope toward the Strait of Hormuz.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in France on November 10, 2026, to discuss North Korea and bilateral issues, according to Seoul's foreign ministry. Cho held a pull-aside meeting with Rubio on the sidelines of a Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting, the ministry said.
The ministry said the two "exchanged views on overall bilateral relations, high-level exchanges and North Korea-related issues," without disclosing other details. Rubio also confirmed the meeting in a post on X, describing "a productive conversation on the importance of the bilateral relationship between South Korea and the United States."
Seoul and Washington have yet to make substantial progress in follow-up consultations on security commitments outlined in a joint fact sheet released after the October 2025 summit between President Lee Jae Myung and President Trump. The commitments include cooperation on South Korea's push to build nuclear-powered attack submarines and expand its rights to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes.
During a Cabinet meeting earlier on November 10, 2026, Lee called for close cooperation with the U.S. government on implementing bilateral diplomatic and security agreements, and stressed efforts to build bipartisan support in Congress on issues concerning South Korea and the alliance. The Cabinet also approved a bill seeking parliamentary consent to expand the operational scope of its anti-piracy Cheonghae unit from waters off the Somali coast to areas closer to the Strait of Hormuz.