President Park Geun-hye met with U.S. Sen. John McCain and U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel on Monday and discussed relations between the two countries and situations on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, her office said.

McCain, the Republican presidential candidate in 2008, arrived here on Sunday for a two-day visit as part of a regional trip that also included stops in Japan and China. Traveling together with him was Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.

Park expressed gratitude to McCain for backing Seoul‘s position on North Korea-related issues, and asked the two senators to help strengthen the alliance between the two countries, according to presidential spokeswoman Kim Haing. (Yonhap News)