Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun speaks to the press upon arrival at Dulles International Airport near Washington, March 20. Yonhap

Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun pledged utmost efforts Thursday to remove South Korea from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s "sensitive country" list, while noting Seoul's plan to seek a "constructive alternative" should the country's designation not be reversed.

Ahn plans to meet Energy Secretary Chris Wright on the day to discuss South Korea's placement on the "Sensitive and Other Designated Countries List (SCL)." He is also set to have talks with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over tariff issues on Friday.

"Although we will engage in consultations in a direction toward the deletion (of South Korea) from the list as much as we can, but if that is not possible, we will seek to craft a constructive alternative," Ahn told reporters upon arrival at Dulles International Airport near Washington.

"We will make our utmost efforts to find an optimal option to ensure that science, technology and industrial cooperation between South Korea and the United States will not be hindered," he added.

The DOE confirmed last week that the preceding Biden administration added South Korea to the SCL in early January — a list that includes North Korea, China and Russia.

The designation is set to take effect April 15. Officials of the designated countries are subject to stricter scrutiny when access is requested to DOE research institutions or other facilities for technology cooperation or other purposes.

The designation has drawn keen media attention in Seoul as many Koreans apparently view the juxtaposition of their country alongside North Korea, China and Russia in the SCL as a matter of trust in the long-standing alliance with the U.S.

Asked if there is a chance that South Korea will be taken out from the list before April 15, Ahn said that he needs to examine exactly what is going on with regards to the list during planned talks with U.S. officials.

He also elaborated on what alternative Seoul is considering.

"The U.S. side is talking about procedural issues (regarding the listing)," he said. "We are trying to find an alternative that can make sure that those procedural matters would not become impediments (to bilateral cooperation) as much as possible."

He pointed out the U.S. government's position that there is no serious problem in bilateral science and technology cooperation.

Another focus of his trip is on President Donald Trump's plan to roll out "reciprocal" tariffs on April 2, which will be customized on a country-by-country basis based on countries' tariff- and non-tariff barriers and other factors, including exchange rates.

"There have been virtually no tariffs between the two countries under a bilateral free trade agreement. But there are various non-tariff issues being raised. Efforts are underway to swiftly address part of them domestically (in Korea)," he said.

"During my visit this time, I will explain these matters, and we are in communication with them over with what plans we will resolve issues where the U.S. has concerns."

Asked whether South Korea is in the so-called Dirty-15 group of countries, Ahn refused to "prejudge." This week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned Dirty-15 countries with high tariffs on U.S. goods, but he did not elaborate.

"We have been consulting steadily. We are now in a situation where we need to craft a framework to minimize any negative impact on South Korean industrial sectors," he said. (Yonhap)