A joint summit document on trade and security between Seoul and Washington could be released as early as Friday, sources said Thursday.
Ruling party officials, who are familiar with the matter, said the two countries were fine-tuning the joint fact sheet, which outlines the outcome of the Oct. 29 summit talks between President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump, and were reviewing when to announce it.
Kang Hoon-sik, the presidential chief of staff, addressed the matter, saying "Discussions are going well with careful attention to detail."
"We will be able to present favorable outcomes to the people," he told reporters before departing for the United Arab Emirates earlier in the day as a special envoy for strategic economic cooperation.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun asked US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to help speed up the planned release the previous day on the sidelines of the Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting in Canada, amid a protracted delay in the announcement.
The joint fact sheet is meant to outline the details concerning what the two leaders have agreed upon, including Seoul's push to secure fuel supplies for nuclear-powered submarines and South Korea's $350 billion investment pledge in exchange for the United States lowering its tariff on South Korean goods to 15 percent from 25 percent.
The presidential office, however, remained cautious about the exact date of the announcement, with many possible scenarios still in play.
Seoul officials have previously hinted at unfinished coordination among relevant US government agencies over "security" matters, suggesting the delay is most likely related to the nuclear-powered submarine issue.
