 |
|
South Korean President Moon Jae-in presides over a Cabinet meeting at the Kim Koo Memorial Hall in Seoul on Feb. 26. (Blue House photo pool)
|
Trump expected to call Blue House as soon as 2nd NK-US summit is over
South Korea President Moon Jae-in may consider visiting Washington, DC, for a summit with US President Donald Trump after the second North Korea-US summit, the Blue House said. “While President Trump did not specifically mention a date [during a telephone call between the two leaders on Feb. 19], he did say there were ‘a lot of things to talk about,’ which gave the impression that [the two leaders] will meet in the near future,” a key Blue House official said on Feb. 26. “If they do meet, I have the sense that President Moon ought to pay a visit to Washington,” the official added. Noting that the North Korean and US leader’s schedule included “a summit on the morning of Feb. 28, a luncheon, an afternoon summit, and a press conference,” the same official said, “A decision could be reached on when to meet if [the South Korean and US leader] speak by telephone that evening.” In a telephone conversation with Moon on Feb. 19, Trump said he would call as soon as the Hanoi summit was finished to share the results with the South Korean President. “We’re expecting to achieve big results at the Hanoi summit, and I look forward to meeting to share those results with you,” he reportedly said during the conversation. If Moon does visit the US, he is seen as likely to go before a reciprocal visit to Seoul by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The Blue House has repeatedly stressed its intent to ensure substance in areas including inter-Korean economic cooperation rather than rushing to arrange Kim’s visit. “We need to examine the results and the content of the agreement from the North Korea-US summit before preparing detailed areas where South and North Korea can do things together,” the Blue House previously said. For that reason, many analysts are predicting Moon will meet in person with Trump to hear the results first-hand from one of the summit participants and share in-depth opinions on projects where South and North Korea can work together. By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
