President Donald Trump on Monday set a 25% tax on goods imported from Japan and South Korea, as well as new tariff rates on a dozen other countries.

South Korea's central bank held interest rates steady on Thursday but a majority of board members signalled another rate cut in the next three months and warned of "significant" economic uncertainty from U.

The country’s new president, in office for a little over a month, had just dispatched his senior deputies to Washington to try to work out a trade deal.

The president warned both countries that if they retaliate with their own tariffs, the U.S. would further increase import taxes.

In letters so far to 14 countries, including smaller exporters to the United States such as Serbia, Thailand and Tunisia, Trump hinted at opportunities for additional negotiations, even while warning that reprisals would draw a like-for-like response.

Trump said on Tuesday that South Korea should be paying for its own military protection, suggesting the US ally needed to pay more for the US troop presence there, a day after the tariff announcement.

Live updates and the latest news as Trump and Netanyahu meet at White House to discuss Iran and the U.S. sends tariff letters to trading partners.

South Korea's central bank held interest rates steady on Thursday, as policymakers steered a cautious path amid concerns about financial stability risks stemming from rising household debt and economic pressure from U.