The US and South Korea should redouble efforts to reach a bilateral trade agreement to cement their alliance following North Korea’s nuclear test, Lee Tae-sik, South Korea’s ambassador to the US, and Bill Rhodes, senior vice-chairman of Citigroup, told the Financial Times.

In a joint interview Mr Lee and Mr Rhodes, who is also chairman of the US-Korea business council, appealed to policymakers to see the nuclear crisis as an opportunity to galvanise the trade talks, which resume on Monday in Jeju, South Korea.