By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee 

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg on Dec. 8, the Foreign Ministry said.

“Minister Cho emphasized the Korean government's firm determination to overcome the current difficult situation based on the resilience of Korea's liberal democracy and the rule of law, which has been steadfastly maintained,” the ministry said in a statement to reporters, adding, ”The two sides agreed to work together to maintain and strengthen the U.S.-ROK alliance.”

The meeting between Cho and Goldberg comes three days after their meeting on Dec. 5. At the time, Cho explained the situation following the announcement of the emergency martial law and “shared the view that South Korea's democracy, the strong U.S.-South Korea alliance, and the U.S. commitment to the defense of South Korea must be maintained unwaveringly,” according to the statement.

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul also shared news of Goldberg's meeting with Cho on its official social media accounts.

“We discussed the current situation in South Korea,” Goldberg said, adding, ”We agreed that the alliance is strong.”

Since President Yoon's declaration of emergency martial law on Dec. 3, senior U.S. officials have continued to publicly criticize the move, using strong language such as “misjudgment” and “illegal.” In particular, the U.S. is seen as taking seriously Yoon's failure to notify the National Assembly and the Election Commission before mobilizing the military.