South Korea foreign minister to visit US as planned despite Tillerson dismissal

SEOUL - Reuters

South Korea’s foreign minister will visit the United States as planned from March 15, her ministry has said, to maintain “strong cooperation” with Washington regardless of the departure of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

“The United States expressed its wish for our foreign minister to visit as planned,” the ministry in text message on March 14, saying Minister Kang Kyung-wha would meet Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan instead.

U.S. President Donald Trump fired Tillerson on March 13 after a series of public rifts over policy on North Korea and other issues, replacing him with Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo.