SEOUL(National times)- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with South Korea’s foreign minister Cho Hyunin in Washington and they discussed burden sharing and fair trade ahead of a planned summit between the two countries, the US State Department said. US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will meet in Washington for a summit on Monday. Rubio and Cho discussed ways to advance the alliance between the two countries “centered on a forward-looking agenda that enhances deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, increases our collective burden sharing, helps to revitalize American manufacturing, and restores fairness and reciprocity in our trade relationship,” according to the State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, Tommy Pigott. Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed on Saturday to closer security and economic ties ahead of Lee’s summit with Trump. On his first official visit to Japan since taking office in June, Lee met Ishiba at the premier’s residence in Tokyo to discuss bilateral ties between the East Asia neighbours, including closer security coordination with the United States under a trilateral pact signed by their predecessors. “As the strategic environment surrounding both our countries grows increasingly severe, the importance of our relations, as well as trilateral cooperation with the United States, continues to grow,” Ishiba said in a joint announcement with Lee after their meeting.