"Confident that differences in investment in the US have been resolved...Trade negotiations expected to conclude within the next 10 days."

"Three or four candidates for the next Fed chairman are recommended for Trump's interview in December."

(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Dong-hyun = U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said on the 15th (local time) that the U.S. will resolve its differences with Korea over the $350 billion (approximately 500 trillion won) investment in the U.S., the biggest point of contention in the Korea-U.S. trade negotiations, and expects to conclude negotiations within the next 10 days.

At a press conference held at the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. on the same day, when asked by a Yonhap News correspondent whether he expected the differences in opinion regarding South Korea's commitment to investment in the U.S. to be resolved, Secretary Besant replied,"I am confident that the differences can be resolved."

"We are talking now, and I expect something within the next 10 days," he added.

Asked whether he would be willing to provide the unlimited currency swap that South Korea had requested from the U.S. out of concern about the negative impact it would have on the foreign exchange market, he said,"The Treasury does not provide currency swaps; that is the responsibility of the Federal Reserve."

He continued,"I'm not the Fed chairman, but if I were, Korea would already have a currency swap like Singapore."

Given these remarks by Secretary Besant, it appears he understands to some extent the South Korean government's position that measures are needed to mitigate the impact of large-scale dollar outflows on South Korea's foreign exchange market.

However, he did not explain why he mentioned Singapore as an example of a currency swap.

The United States and Singapore signed a $60 billion currency swap agreement in March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Secretary Besant was once considered a strong candidate to become the next Fed chairman, but he has stated that he wants to continue as Treasury secretary and is now overseeing the vetting of candidates for the next chairman.

In an earlier interview with CNBC, he revealed that he had narrowed down the list of candidates to succeed Jerome Powell, the current Fed Chairman, whose term ends in May next year, from 11 to five.

He said he plans to nominate three or four candidates for the chairmanship for President Trump to interview in December, after Thanksgiving (November 27).

At the meeting, Secretary Besant said that even if the Supreme Court invalidates reciprocal tariffs, the administration has many other tools at its disposal to impose tariffs, and that"I don't think countries will back out of their trade agreements (with the United States)."

Asked whether he thought Japan should reduce its imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), Secretary Besant said,"Anyone who buys Russian energy is aiding the attack on the Ukrainian people."