South Korea will speed up high-level talks with the new US administration in a bid to keep the bilateral alliance strong, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

"Following the inauguration ceremony of Donald Trump as US president, the South Korean government plans to seek consultations and coordination between Seoul and Washington in a speedy manner at the minister level as well as higher-ranking policymakers," Cho June-hyuck, spokesman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a briefing. "Through them, (Seoul) plans to push forward the strengthening of the South Korea-US alliance and intensify cooperation in other sectors between the two countries."