Seoul urges U.S. cooperation over visa limits affecting students and journalists

Korea has called for cooperation from the U.S. government to ensure that new restrictions on the stay periods of international students and foreign journalists do not undermine people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

Deputy Foreign Minister Park Jong-han met with Jason Evans, under secretary for management at the U.S. Department of State, in Seoul to discuss a range of bilateral cooperation issues, according to the Foreign Ministry

Park said active people-to-people exchanges are the cornerstone of bilateral ties, fostering mutual understanding between the two countries' citizens and strengthening their future-oriented alliance.

The meeting came after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced last week a plan to limit the authorized stay of international students to four years and that of foreign journalists holding I visas to 240 days.

Park asked the U.S. government to pay close attention to the issue and provide support to ensure that U.S. immigration policies do not result in unintended harm or unfair infringement of the rights and interests of Korean nationals.

Yonhap