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President Moon’s summit diplomacy schedule
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South Korean leader plans to use the Olympics as a stepping stone to improve inter-Korean relations
The schedule of summits and other meetings between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and leaders of major countries such as the US, China and Japan who are visiting South Korea for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics was confirmed on Feb. 2. The big question is how much this summit diplomacy will aid Moon’s plan to use the Pyeongchang Olympics as a stepping stone to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Blue House spokesperson Kim Eui-kyum announced that Moon will be having summits, luncheons and dinners with a total of 14 state leaders or foreign dignitaries between Feb. 6 and 20. For example, he will meet and dine with US Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the American Olympic delegation, at the Blue House on Feb. 8, the day before the Olympics’ opening ceremony. Prior to his meeting with Pence on Feb. 8, Moon is scheduled to meet Han Zheng, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), who is visiting South Korea as a special envoy for Chinese President Xi Jinping. On Feb. 9, Moon will have a luncheon with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, and then will move to Pyeongchang for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Since a total of 26 state leaders or foreign dignitaries from 21 countries are visiting South Korea during the Pyeongchang Olympics, Moon’s summit schedule may be augmented later. Moon might also meet senior officials from North Korea, if they end up visiting South Korea. Despite expectations that French President Emmanuel Macron would attend the Olympics, Macron confirmed that he will not be visiting. “President Moon will be explaining the urgent need for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and asking for help not only from the leaders of the US, China and Japan but from all the state leaders who are visiting South Korea,” said a senior official at the Blue House. In terms of the number of state leaders visiting South Korea (26 people from 21 countries), the Pyeongchang Olympics will be the largest event to be held in the country since the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul. Since German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Slovenian President Borut Pahor and UN Secretary-General António Guterres are paying official visits on Moon’s invitation, Moon will be holding summits and luncheons with them (Steinmeier at the Blue House on Feb. 8 and Pahor at the Blue House on Feb. 20). Pence is the only person with whom Moon will be meeting and having dinner despite not being a head of government. The two are expected to discuss the North Korean nuclear issue and North Korea-US dialogue. “We’re currently in deliberations with the US about President Trump’s family and other people that may attend,” said an official at the Blue House. There are also some dignified guests who are being given the treatment normally reserved for state leaders. The Foreign Ministry explained that even though Han Zheng, the seventh highest official in the CPC, is visiting as Xi’s special envoy, he will be treated as a state leader because that is how China describes members of the standing committee. When asked about the possibility of Xi attending the Olympics’ closing ceremony, a high-ranking official at the Blue House said that “he might and he might not, but there’s still time [to decide].” In addition to the North Korean nuclear issue, follow-up measures to South Korea and Japan’s 2015 agreement about the comfort women might be on the agenda of Moon and Abe’s summit. It’s unlikely that a separate trilateral summit between South Korea, the US and Japan will be held during the Pyeongchang Olympics, a Foreign Ministry official said. From the time state leaders arrive at the airport, they will be accompanied by a protocol officer to provide around-the-clock assistance for the duration of their stay. They will also be provided with one Hyundai Equus luxury sedan for the state leader and three other vehicles for their retinue, along with security guards. The majority of state leaders will be flying into South Korea via airports in Incheon, Gimpo or Seoul and using vehicle transport, but some of them will also be riding on a KTX train reserved for state leaders that will run on the day of the Olympics’ opening ceremony on Feb. 9. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who are paying official visits to South Korea, have both been reserved a car on this train for their use and the use of their attendants. By Kim Bo-hyeop and Kim Ji-eun, staff reporters Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
