South Korea and the US deny reports of postponing dialogue with North Korea
(Baonghean.vn)- On March 16, South Korean and US officials emphasized that the summit between Pyongyang and Washington will still proceed as planned, rejecting speculation that the meeting will be postponed following a major cabinet reshuffle in the Donald Trump administration.
The Blue House (ie the South Korean Presidential Office) confirmed that so far there has been no request from the US to postpone the US-North Korea summit scheduled to take place next May.
Speaking to reporters, an unnamed senior official at the Blue House said: “President Trump said he would hold the summit no later than next May, so we believe the information is just speculation from the media. The US has not officially notified us (about postponing the meeting).”
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders also reaffirmed that “there are no sensitive factors” affecting this historic summit, and said that President Trump is sure “to arrange the right people in the right places at the right time.”
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| US President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in. Photo: Yonhap |
The comments come amid concerns that President Trump's hasty agreement to a summit with North Korea's leader and the latest cabinet reshuffle in the US administration will affect preparations.
Doubts are growing in Washington that the summit will take place due to a lack of formal channels of communication and diplomats experienced in dealing with Pyongyang.
In recent months, senior North Korea experts in the Trump administration have either voluntarily or under duress. Victor Cha withdrew from consideration to be the next US ambassador to Seoul, and US nuclear envoy Joseph Yun retired last month.
This week, Mr. Trump also dismissed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and announced that Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Mike Pompeo would be Mr. Tillerson's successor.
In an interview with CNBC, Bill Richardson, a former US ambassador to the UN who has conducted diplomatic missions in the past, including negotiations with Pyongyang, commented: “I don’t understand why there is a rush to meet with North Korea. It will take Pompeo at least a month to be recognized. He needs to speed up. He is an intelligence officer, but he needs to learn about Asia, diplomacy. He needs to learn a lot about the State Department.”
