President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden are considering a plan to hold a Korea-US summit in April.
President Moon Jae-in is talking on the phone with US President Joe Biden at the Blue House on the morning of the 4th. News 1
High-ranking passport officials said on the 2nd, “The ROK-US authorities are discussing a plan to hold a separate ROK-US summit before the June G7 (7 major countries) summit.” Through a notice from Cheongwadae’s spokesman Kang Min-seok, he said, “There is no matter to confirm,” and “the ROK and the United States have been closely discussing plans to hold the summit.”
There were many observations that the first face-to-face meeting between President Moon and President Biden would be the G7 Summit held in Britain on June 11-13. President Moon was also vaccinated against the coronavirus with the departure schedule in June on the 23rd of last month.
An analysis suggests that the background of the advancement of the Korea-US summit meeting is related to the announcement of the new policy toward North Korea by the Biden administration.
In a call with the JoongAng Ilbo on that day, the key person of the passport said, “The need for deep coordination of opinions between the ROK and the US leaders has expanded in a situation where the announcement of the new US policy toward North Korea is imminent.” However, there is a possibility that North Korea policy will be announced after the summit meeting.” This is a statement weighing on the possibility of an early summit meeting.
The exact schedule of the summit meeting is likely to be announced after meeting with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, who is currently visiting the United States for consultation with the heads of the Korea-US-Japan security office.
In their first summit call on February 4, the ROK-US leaders agreed that “we need to come up with a comprehensive strategy toward North Korea as soon as possible,” and “we will hold a summit meeting as soon as the corona situation subsides”. In particular, President Biden said in the call at the time, “The importance of meeting each other, making eye-to-eye contact,” he said, “I look forward to meeting and discussing in person.” In response, President Moon replied, “If we meet in person and talk to each other in person, it will be a special time for the people of both Korea and the United States and the people of both Korea and the United States.”
After the summit call, the two countries are said to have coordinated the timing of the summit through communication channels such as the Blue House and the White House, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Department. The issue was also discussed when US Secretary of State Blincoln visited Korea last month.
President Moon Jae-in interviews US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Blue House on the afternoon of March 18. News 1
However, on the issue of the Korean peninsula, there are many aspects that show disagreements between the ROK-US leaders.
President Biden is most interested in the checks on China. The issue of the Korean peninsula is also approaching in connection with the improvement of the ROK-Japan relations at the level of the allies, including the US-Korea alliance. President Biden’s choice of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as his first face-to-face summit after taking office is interpreted as the message of the alliance to check China. It was confirmed that the US-Japan summit will be held on the 16th (US time).
On the other hand, President Moon is emphasizing the policy toward North Korea for the denuclearization and peace policy of the Korean Peninsula.
The US has dismissed the possibility of dialogue with the US, saying, “It is not the intention of President Biden,” through a White House spokesman on the 29th of last month in connection with the North Korea-US summit. The Blue House nevertheless revealed a temperature difference with the Biden administration at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Security Council (NSC) on the 1st, saying, “The dialogue between the countries concerned for the establishment of stability and peace on the Korean Peninsula must be resumed as soon as possible.”
Reporter Kang Tae-hwa [email protected]
