Moon-Trump summit likely for mid-May

A South Korea-US summit meeting is being arranged for some time in May, before a planned meeting between the leaders of the US and North Korea, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.

Revealing that National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong met with White House national security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday in the US, Cheong Wa Dae’s chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan said that a Seoul-Washington summit was a key agenda item in Chung’s meeting. 

“The two also discussed plans for arranging a meeting between President Moon Jae-in and President Donald Trump before the US-North Korea summit,” Yoon said, adding that the two sides agreed to continue cooperating closely after the inter-Korean summit for the success of Trump’s planned meeting with Kim.

Moon is set to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Friday. A US-North Korea summit is being arranged, but the time and location of the meeting have not yet been decided.

“(Chung and Bolton) discussed ways to closely cooperate on achieving the goal of denuclearization and developments concerning the inter-Korean summit,” Yoon said.

Yoon said that as part of the cooperative measures, Moon and Trump would have a telephone conversation immediately after the inter-Korean summit.

Regarding Seoul-Washington summit plans, a high-level Cheong Wa Dae official said a time had not yet been set, but mid-May is likely. He said the meeting was being arranged as a “face-to-face meeting (that) will increase understanding,” and to maintain close cooperation between the two countries.

The official added that it is unlikely that a special envoy will be sent to Pyongyang before Friday’s inter-Korean summit. It had been speculated that Chung or National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon could be sent to Pyongyang as a special envoy before the Moon-Kim meeting.

He added that Chung’s role is focused on the US, and that of Suh on North Korea, and the two are “faithfully serving their roles.”

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)