South Korea, US to hold talks to resolve visa controversy: Seoul

ANKARA

South Korea on Monday confirmed that Washington and Seoul are going to launch a working group this week to improve the visa system for Korean workers amid controversy over the detention and release of South Koreans in a recent US immigration raid, local media reported.

The two allies will hold the inaugural meeting of the working group in Washington on Tuesday, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported, citing South Korea's Foreign Ministry.

The discussions are aimed at focusing on improving the US visa process for South Korean workers, as South Korean companies continue to undertake major manufacturing projects in the US.

The consultations will be led by Jung Ki-hong, South Korea's government representative for Korean nationals overseas protection and consular affairs, and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kevin Kim, the ministry said.

In early September, over 300 South Korean workers involved in building a factory in the US state of Georgia were held for a week due to visa-related issues. They were released following diplomatic discussions.

In July, Seoul and Washington agreed in principle to a deal under which the US reduced the tariff on imports from South Korea from 25% to 15% in exchange for Seoul's commitment to invest $350 billion in the US.

Earlier, in an interview with Bloomberg, South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said on Thursday that without resolving the visa issue, "meaningful progress remains virtually impossible."

"The detention incident dealt a severe blow not only to the general Korean public, but especially to the workers," said Kim.

Both the workers and their families are "understandably reluctant to enter the US again," while the matter remains unsolved, he said, adding: "It will be very difficult for a large number of workers to enter or re-enter the US until this problem is resolved."

*Writing by Aamir Latif