April 19, 2024
Economy
Moon, Trump plan June summit
[THE INVESTOR] President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart Donald Trump are expected to hold their first summit next month in Washington as they seek to coordinate North Korea policy following leadership transitions, officials said on May 16.
A visiting delegation of White House officials in charge of Korea policy met with a group of foreign affairs and security advisors for Moon, chaired by former Ambassador to Geneva Chung Eui-yong. The representatives, led by Matt Pottinger, senior director for East Asia at the White House’s National Security Council and including Allison Hooker, Korea director at the NSC, arrived here late May 15 for a two-day visit.
The allies have been striving to arrange an early meeting between the two leaders in a bid to quell concerns about a crack in their united front against North Korea due chiefly to Moon’s pledge to reopen dialogue with the recalcitrant regime while keeping up sanctions and pressure.
“The sides have agreed in principle to have a summit late June in Washington and to further consult on a detailed schedule and agenda through diplomatic channels,” Cheong Wa Dae’s senior press secretary Yoon Young-chan told reporters.
“The summit will provide a chance for the two leaders to promote friendship.”
The envoys also reaffirmed their “common ground” on North Korea’s nuclear and missile program, Yoon noted. The key common areas are the ultimate goal of completely abolishing the program, mobilizing all available means including sanctions and dialogue, the possibility of dialogue with the North if the right conditions are formed and to that aim, the allies will explore bold and pragmatic steps together.
To facilitate preparations for the summit, Moon plans to dispatch Hong Seok-hyun, former chairman of daily newspaper JoongAng Ilbo and cable TV network JTBC who also served as ambassador to the US, as his special envoy as early as this week, Yoon said.
On the sidelines of the talks with Chung, Pottinger also paid a seven-minute courtesy call to Moon. He then met with Lee Jeong-kyu, Seoul’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs, later in the day.
The delegation’s visit came on the day of North Korea’s launch of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, which is speculated to be capable of flying at least 4,500 kilometers and possibly up to 9,000 kilometers.
The latest provocation put Moon’s North Korea policy to an early test. He has conveyed signals of rapprochement with the Kim Jong-un regime, saying during his oath of office that he would visit Pyongyang if conditions are met.
But Pottinger said the allies are “in alignment” that Pyongyang’s behavior is a threat to regional stability and security, though he fell short of elaborating on the conditions for possible talks with the North.
“Right now we certainly do not see the right conditions in light of the provocations. We would want to see concrete movement to reduce threats -- right now the threat is gathering,” he told reporters after the meeting with Lee at the ministry headquarters in Seoul.
On the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, for which Trump demanded Seoul pay US$1 billion, the journalist-turned-policymaker sought to calm the controversy, saying it is a “settled matter.”
He also lauded South Korea’s “smooth” leadership transition despite months of political turmoil, saying it made him feel a “sense of owe.” Moon took office on May 10, one day after a snap election brought by the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye.
“I have to say how I’m impressed with how smooth the transition is going here -- it makes me a little jealous,” Pottinger said.
“It is really in one week on the job, things are just happening so smoothly that South Korea makes democracy so easy.”
By Shin Hyon-hee/The Korea Herald (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)
A visiting delegation of White House officials in charge of Korea policy met with a group of foreign affairs and security advisors for Moon, chaired by former Ambassador to Geneva Chung Eui-yong. The representatives, led by Matt Pottinger, senior director for East Asia at the White House’s National Security Council and including Allison Hooker, Korea director at the NSC, arrived here late May 15 for a two-day visit.
The allies have been striving to arrange an early meeting between the two leaders in a bid to quell concerns about a crack in their united front against North Korea due chiefly to Moon’s pledge to reopen dialogue with the recalcitrant regime while keeping up sanctions and pressure.
“The sides have agreed in principle to have a summit late June in Washington and to further consult on a detailed schedule and agenda through diplomatic channels,” Cheong Wa Dae’s senior press secretary Yoon Young-chan told reporters.
“The summit will provide a chance for the two leaders to promote friendship.”
The envoys also reaffirmed their “common ground” on North Korea’s nuclear and missile program, Yoon noted. The key common areas are the ultimate goal of completely abolishing the program, mobilizing all available means including sanctions and dialogue, the possibility of dialogue with the North if the right conditions are formed and to that aim, the allies will explore bold and pragmatic steps together.
To facilitate preparations for the summit, Moon plans to dispatch Hong Seok-hyun, former chairman of daily newspaper JoongAng Ilbo and cable TV network JTBC who also served as ambassador to the US, as his special envoy as early as this week, Yoon said.
On the sidelines of the talks with Chung, Pottinger also paid a seven-minute courtesy call to Moon. He then met with Lee Jeong-kyu, Seoul’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs, later in the day.
The delegation’s visit came on the day of North Korea’s launch of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, which is speculated to be capable of flying at least 4,500 kilometers and possibly up to 9,000 kilometers.
The latest provocation put Moon’s North Korea policy to an early test. He has conveyed signals of rapprochement with the Kim Jong-un regime, saying during his oath of office that he would visit Pyongyang if conditions are met.
But Pottinger said the allies are “in alignment” that Pyongyang’s behavior is a threat to regional stability and security, though he fell short of elaborating on the conditions for possible talks with the North.
“Right now we certainly do not see the right conditions in light of the provocations. We would want to see concrete movement to reduce threats -- right now the threat is gathering,” he told reporters after the meeting with Lee at the ministry headquarters in Seoul.
On the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, for which Trump demanded Seoul pay US$1 billion, the journalist-turned-policymaker sought to calm the controversy, saying it is a “settled matter.”
He also lauded South Korea’s “smooth” leadership transition despite months of political turmoil, saying it made him feel a “sense of owe.” Moon took office on May 10, one day after a snap election brought by the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye.
“I have to say how I’m impressed with how smooth the transition is going here -- it makes me a little jealous,” Pottinger said.
“It is really in one week on the job, things are just happening so smoothly that South Korea makes democracy so easy.”
By Shin Hyon-hee/The Korea Herald (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)
