S. KOREA-U.S. JOINT RESPONSE TO COVID-19

[Anchor Lead]

The leaders of South Korea and the United States talked on the phone Tuesday night to discuss a joint response to COVID-19. President Trump asked South Korea to provide medical equipment to help fight the pandemic. President Moon said his government would provide "maximum support" if the country has any to spare.

[Pkg]

The leaders of South Korea and the U.S. held phone talks arranged at the urgent request of President Trump. They discussed cooperation in containing COVID-19. President Trump said Korea is "doing very good" in containment efforts and asked whether Seoul could provide medical equipment. President Moon offered maximum support if there are spare amounts in the country. The U.S. is in dire need of medical supplies including testing kits and face masks, which explains Trump's latest request. Moon pointed out the medical equipment might require approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA). In response, Trump reportedly said he would take immediate action for that to happen in a day. In the phone call, the two leaders also agreed the recent bilateral currency swap deal was a "very timely" measure. According to Seoul's presidential office, they also exchanged opinions on the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics as well as the upcoming G20 leaders' summit that will take place via a video conference call. Moon proposed talks to discuss ways to guarantee activities by business people in efforts to minimize the COVID-19 fallout on the global economy. Trump also agreed to the idea. Pundits had anticipated the two leaders would also talk about the letter Trump recently sent to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but the presidential office's briefing on the phone conversation did not include this information.