South Korean Presidential Assistant Secretly Visits the US
(Baonghean.vn) - Yonhap news agency quoted an official in the South Korean presidential office - the Blue House on May 4 saying that the country's senior security adviser is currently in the US. Accordingly, this person will attend discussions with Washington about the upcoming summit between the US President and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
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| Mr. Chung Eui-yong in a meeting with US President Donald Trump. Photo: Blue House |
Chung Eui-yong, head of the South Korean President's National Security Office, left for Washington on May 3 at the request of the White House National Security Council, an unnamed Blue House official told reporters.
“The White House National Security Council requested that Mr. Chung visit to discuss the North Korea-US summit,” the official said, adding that the US side had asked the South Korean official not to disclose the trip to the US.
“It is unclear whether he will visit the White House,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The White House has not yet responded to a request from South Korean news agency Yonhap to confirm Mr. Kim's visit.
The trip, if confirmed, would be the third known visit by the South Korean official to Washington since John Bolton took office as US National Security Adviser last month.
The visit comes ahead of a summit between the US and North Korean leaders, likely to be held in late May or early June.
The summit will be closely watched after South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed at a meeting on April 27 to pursue “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula.
For his part, President Trump affirmed that he would participate in negotiations aimed at eliminating the North Korean regime's nuclear weapons.
Details of the date and location of the first summit between the United States and North Korea are expected to be announced in the coming days, after Mr Trump revealed the possibility of meeting Mr Kim at the Demilitarized Zone that divides North and South Korea.
Earlier in March, Mr. Chung went to Washington after meeting Mr. Kim in Pyongyang to convey the North Korean leader's desire to meet Mr. Trump as well as his willingness to discuss denuclearization.
Trump and Kim have traded threats and personal criticisms over the past year, as North Korea has tested nuclear weapons and developed ballistic missiles.
