SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held a telephone call with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and discussed continuing close ties across all areas in security and economic fields, a senior South Korean official said on Thursday.
Yoon and Trump shared concerns over North Korea's deployment of troops backing Russia in the war against Ukraine and Pyongyang's continued military provocations including ballistic missile launches, the official told reporters.
"They shared the view they need to discuss these issues in person and agreed to meet at an early time once they are able to set a date and location," Yoon's deputy national security adviser, Kim Tae-hyo, said.
Trump noted South Korea's success in shipbuilding and vessel maintenance and said he looked forward to discussing more about how South Korea can aid the American shipbuilding industry, Kim said as he briefed reporters on the 12-minute phone call.
Yoon congratulated Trump on winning the presidency on the "Make America Great Again" slogan and said the success of the three-way cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the United States was due in part to the foundation laid by Trump's first presidency, Kim said.
(Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Ed Davies)
By Joyce Lee