Moon, Trump to hold summit in Seoul on Sunday

US President Donald Trump will visit South Korea on a two-day schedule from Saturday, Cheong Wa Dae announced Monday.

The visit was arranged at the invitation of President Moon Jae-in, conveyed during the Moon-Trump summit in Washington in April, Cheong Wa Dae said. 

“President Trump will arrive in the afternoon of June 29, and hold a summit at Cheong Wa Dae on the next day,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Ko Min-jung said.

“(Moon and Trump) will hold in-depth discussions on ways to further strengthen South Korea-US alliance, and for establishing permanent peace through complete denuclearization.”

A South Korean official also confirmed reports of Trump’s plan to visit the Demilitarized Zone during the trip.

However, a high-level Cheong Wa Dae official refuted reports that a three-way summit among Moon, Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is being planned at the DMZ.

US and Japanese media reports have also raised the possibility of Trump visiting the DMZ during his trip. Trump attempted to visit the place during his last trip to South Korea in 2017, but was forced to turn back due to inclement weather.

On Saturday, Moon and Trump will travel to South Korea from Osaka, Japan, where they are set to attend the G-20 summit.

While in Osaka, both Moon and Trump are scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who held his fifth meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last week.

Trump will set out for Washington on June 30 from Osan Air Base, a US Air Force base in Gyeonggi Province.

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