 |
|
Blue House Spokesperson Kim Eui-kyum
|
Difficulty in scheduling envoys’ visit to Washington
On Sept. 7, the Blue House announced its decision to send Blue House National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong and National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon to China and Japan, respectively, to explain the results of their recent visit to North Korea. On Sept. 5, Chung and Suh visited Pyongyang as members of a special envoy delegation to North Korea, where they deliberated ways to establish peace and achieve denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and other officials in the North’s leadership. South Korea is reportedly still working on scheduling visits to the US and Russia. “Today, President Moon sent Chung Eui-yong and Suh Hoon to China and Japan as special envoys, where they are instructed to explain the results of the special envoy delegation’s visit to North Korea. Chung will be meeting with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi on Sept. 8, while Suh will be paying a visit to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sept. 10,” Blue House Spokesperson Kim Eui-kyum said during the daily press briefing on the afternoon of Sept. 7. The original idea was for Chung to begin by visiting Washington, but there was reportedly trouble scheduling that visit. “On Sept. 10, Chung is planning to speak on the phone with US National Security Advisor John Bolton once more. Since Chung already explained the results of the visit to North Korea yesterday, we expect he will hear about how the White House responded and what its position is,” a senior official at the Blue House said during a meeting with reporters. “While [the plan to send a special envoy to] Russia hasn’t been confirmed, Chung is planning to speak on the phone with Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, this afternoon,” the official added. It’s unclear whether the reason the US was not one of the countries to which Moon has dispatched special envoys to explain the results of the visit to North Korea is because South Korea and the US are at odds over the message about denuclearization that the North Korean and American leaders are exchanging via Moon and the special envoys. Scheduling difficulties ahead of US midterm elections But given the crucial midterm elections coming up in November, one factor appears to be the difficulty of arranging meetings when Bolton and US President Donald Trump are frequently out of the White House and on the campaign trail. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is currently visiting India. As a consequence, the Blue House is also considering the idea of having Moon explain the results to Trump in person during their summit, which is scheduled for the end of September. One advantage of this is that Moon would also be able to talk about the commitment to denuclearization that Kim shows in the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang between Sept. 18 and 20 and about practical measures for achieving denuclearization. Stephen Biegun’s upcoming visit to South Korea This idea also appears to take into account the upcoming visit to South Korea by Stephen Biegun, who was recently appointed US Special Representative for North Korea. On the morning of Sept. 6, the US State Department issued a media note stating that Biegun would be visiting the three countries of South Korea, China and Japan between Sept. 10 and 15. “Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun [. . .] will meet with his counterparts and continue diplomatic efforts to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea as agreed to by Chairman Kim in Singapore,” the State Department said in the statement, referring to the North Korea-US summit held in Singapore on June 12. In line with the State Department’s announcement, Biegun’s first destination is likely to be Seoul, where he’s supposed to meet Lee Do-hoon, South Korea’s Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs. During his visit to South Korea, Biegun is likely to hear the results of the special delegation’s visit to North Korea and to share his opinion about future measures in negotiations with the North. Following the announcement of his appointment as special representative on Aug. 23, Biegun assumed his official duties this month. This will be his first visit to South Korea or any of the other related countries. By Kim Bo-hyeop, staff reporter, and Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
