1. Director-General for North American Affairs Ko Yunju met with officials of the Department of State of the United States, including Marc Knapper, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Korea and Japan at the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, on the margins of the 52^nd Republic of Korea-United States Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), and discussed matters of mutual interest.

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° In particular, during the meeting with Deputy Assistant Secretary Knapper, the two sides reaffirmed the strength of the ROK-U.S. alliance, a linchpin of regional peace and stability; discussed ongoing bilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region; and exchanged views on the proposal to establish a director-general-level consultative mechanism (tentatively called “Alliance Dialogue”) and the way forward, following up on the meeting between First Vice Minister Choi Jong Kun and Deputy Secretary of State Stephen E. Biegun on September 10.

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2. Director-General Ko also met with experts at the U.S. Congress and think tanks, exchanged views on the current situations and prospects related to the U.S. presidential election and shared the goals to further strengthen the ROK-U.S. alliance through close communication between the two countries.