President Park Geun-hye will visit the United States this week for summit talks with her American counterpart, Barack Obama, a senior presidential official said Sunday.
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President Park Geun-hye is poised to offer letters of credence to newly appointed diplomats at Cheong Wa Dae last Thursday. (Yonhap) |
Park will depart for Washington on Tuesday for a four-day trip, which will include a summit with Obama on Friday, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs Ju Chul-ki said during a press briefing.
It will be Park’s second official visit to the U.S. and her fourth summit with Obama since she took office in February 2013.
“The summit is expected to be a valuable opportunity to exchange in-depth opinions on not only the South Korea-U.S. alliance but also peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia,” Ju said.
The summit is being held after the original plan in June was delayed due to Middle East respiratory syndrome spread that had hit the nation hard this summer. The meeting with Obama is also considered a watershed moment for Park’s diplomatic drive following her talks with China’s Xi Jinping in September. Park is set to follow-up her summit diplomacy with trilateral talks with China and Japan later this month or early next month.
During her U.S. visit, Park is set to make her first visit to the Pentagon since her inauguration. This will be the second time for a South Korean president to make the trip since former President Lee Myung-bak in October 2011.
Upon arrival, Park will pay tribute to the Korean War veterans on Wednesday, and visit the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to seek wider cooperation in space industry. She will attend a forum on high-tech industry later in the day.
On Thursday, Park will visit the Defense Department to reaffirm strong Korea-U.S. alliance and defense, to be followed by lunch hosted by Vice President Joe Biden to share views on the Asia-Pacific and global cooperation.
Park’s schedule also includes a roundtable with economic leaders and a visit to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The highlight will come on Friday when Park will sit with Obama to discuss their alliance, North Korea and other global partnership. The two leaders will hold a joint press conference during which they are expected to adopt a joint fact sheet and possibly a joint statement.
Some 166 business representatives will accompany Park.
From news reports
