Ivanka Trump to push for 'maximum pressure' on North Korea

Trump said that her trip was aimed at reaffirming the allies’ commitment to “maximum pressure” against North Korea, while President Moon Jae-in hailed the ongoing inter-Korean dialogue for easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula during dinner at the presidential office.

“I thank you for hosting us all here tonight as we reaffirm our bonds of friendship, of cooperation, of partnership and reaffirm our commitment to our maximum pressure campaign to ensure that the Korean Peninsula is denuclearized,” she said while having dinner with Moon, according to pool reports.

President Moon discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula with Trump in a closed-door meeting that lasted for about half an hour ahead of the welcome dinner, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Moon and Trump began to dine at around 8:15 p.m. at Sangchunjae, traditional Korean house inside the presidential office.

“Active dialogue is being held between the South and the North amid the North’s participation in the Olympics and this is greatly contributing to easing tension on the Korean Peninsula and improving the inter-Korean relations,” Moon said during dinner, according to pool reports.

“I believe this was possible because President Trump strongly supports South-North Korean dialogue,” he added.

The dinner was attended by a US delegation that includes White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders; Gen. Vincent Brooks, commander of US Forces Korea; Sen. James Risch, a republican from Idaho; Marc Knapper, charge d’affaires at the US Embassy; and Allison Hooker, a National Security Council official who specialized in Korean affairs.

From the Korean side, Chief Presidential Secretary Im Jong-seok, presidential national security chief Chung Eui-yong, chief of staff for policy Chang Ha-sung, presidential press secretary Yoon Young-chan, first lady Kim Jung-sook accompanied Moon to host the US delegation.

The Blue House prepared a kosher, vegetarian menu for Trump, who is Jewish and abides by a disciplined diet, it said. Following the dinner, a small concert was held featuring traditional Korean music.

Her visit comes amid speculation of possible contact between officials from the US and North Korea on the sidelines of the Olympics, after it was revealed that US Vice President Mike Pence was set to meet with North Korean officials until the North canceled at the last minute.

North Korea said Thursday that it would also send a high-level delegation headed by Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the central committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

Among the US delegates is Allison Hooker, who met Kim in North Korea in 2014 when she accompanied James Clapper, then-director of national intelligence, to secure the release of American detainees Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller.

Officials from South Korea and the US dismissed the possibility of any contact between officials from the US and North Korea.

A Cheong Wa Dae official said Thursday that there was neither a “plan” nor a “chance” for delegates from the North and US to meet during their stay here. The official told reporters on condition of anonymity that “their paths at the closing ceremony will not cross.”

The North’s delegation will be here from Sunday to Tuesday, while the US delegation will be here until Monday.

A US official also said Trump does not plan to meet with North Korean officials or defectors during her visit from Friday through Monday.

But a message she might be carrying from her father, particularly on his stance on North Korea or his willingness to talk to the reclusive regime, could shape the dynamics of the Korean Peninsula following the Olympics.

There are mounting concerns that a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations will not lead to a resolution to the nuclear standoff, and that tensions will resurface unless the US and North Korea sit down for talks.

Amid speculation of contact between Trump and North Korean officials, the US is seen as toughening its rhetoric against the North.

Pence strongly criticized North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-jong on Thursday, calling her a “central pillar” of a regime accused of serious human rights abuses at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.

The US State Department also said that Kim Yong-chol, who heads the North’s delegation, should use his planned visit to South Korea to pay tribute to the victims of the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan, which he is thought to have masterminded.

The US is due to announce its largest package of sanctions yet against North Korea to further pressure Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile program while Ivanka Trump is in South Korea, according to news reports.

(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)