A U.S. senator, known for his close ties to former President Donald Trump, said Thursday that he will visit Seoul next month to attend an annual trilateral economic meeting between South Korea, the United States and Japan. Sen. Bill Hagerty, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Japan from 2017-2019 during Trump's presidency, plans to participate in the second annual Trilateral Economic Dialogue on Sept. 4 that will bring together private- and public-sector leaders from the three countries. The trip comes as he is set to lead a bipartisan group of senators in a delegation to South Korea and Japan. "As the former United States ambassador to Japan, it is my privilege to lead a bipartisan group of my Senate colleagues on a congressional delegation to Japan and the Republic of Korea," he said in a statement. "I look forward to bringing our delegation of U.S. senators even closer to these two nations whose vital alliances with the United States I came to so greatly appreciate as ambassador," he added. Hagerty underscored the importance of trilateral cooperation on various fronts. "Now more than ever, it is imperative that our three nations continue to strengthen our economic, diplomatic, and strategic relationship," he said. Source: Yonhap News Agency