FM Cho, Landau welcome plans to launch working group on visa issue for Korean workers: State Dept.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau welcomed plans to convene a working group aimed at addressing visa issues for Korean workers during their talks in New York, Friday, a State Department spokesperson said.

The two diplomats met on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly High-Level Week, as Seoul and Washington plan to launch a working group to address the visa issues after more than 310 South Korean workers were detained in an immigration crackdown in Georgia earlier this month.

"Both sides welcomed plans to convene a bilateral working group aimed at facilitating travel to and investment in America," principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a press readout.

During the talks, Landau underscored the "valuable" role that Korean investment plays in supporting American reindustrialization and enhancing the two countries' collective prosperity, Pigott noted.

The plan for the working group came as the detention of the Korean workers brought to the fore the long-festering visa issue, particularly at a time when South Korea has committed to investing $350 billion in the United States as part of a bilateral trade deal struck in July.

The two officials also recognized their countries' commitment to the "complete" denuclearization of North Korea, and reaffirmed the "enduring" spirit of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and both sides' resolve to advance a "future-focused" agenda.

In addition, they emphasized the need for meaningful outcomes to close out South Korea's successful Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) host year, including at the upcoming leaders' week in Gyeongju, according to the spokesperson.