By Timothy Gardner, David Brunnstrom and Ju-min Park WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Energy has designated ally South Korea a "sensitive" country, a spokesperson said on Friday, after the South Korean president briefly imposed martial law and amid talk of Seoul potentially developing nuclear weapons.

US-sensitive country WASHINGTON, March 14 (Yonhap) -- The placement of South Korea on the U.S. Department of Energy's "sensitive country" list might pose a tricky test to the bilateral alliance, experts said Friday,

Senior South Korean and US officials met in Washington to address trade issues including tariff measures, with both sides agreeing to continue dialogue.

South Korea's trade minister has asked his U.S. counterpart to exempt the country from reciprocal tariffs if they go into effect in April, the trade ministry said on Saturday. During his visit to Washington this week,

Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo said Friday that he has called for the Trump administration to grant South Korea tariff exemptions and ensure the Asian ally will be treated in a "non-discriminatory" way.