South Korea earns nearly 40% of its gross domestic product through exports. © Reuters
NAMI MATSUURA
SEOUL -- South Korea faces heightened diplomatic and economic risks as a power vacuum leaves it unable to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump's import tariffs, while Washington has gone so far as to place the country on a security liability watch list.
Ahn Duk-geun, the minister of trade, industry and energy, headed to Washington on Thursday to explain Seoul's position after it was revealed that the U.S. Energy Department had designated South Korea as a "sensitive country" requiring special consideration in areas like security, terrorism and nuclear nonproliferation.