White House delegation arrives to discuss Korea-US summit
By Yi Whan-woo
Matt Pottinger
Allison Hooker
A White House delegation arrived in Seoul, Monday, to fine-tune the schedule for a summit between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump and also their agenda, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The delegation is led by Matt Pottinger, the senior director for East Asia at the National Security Council (NSC) and Allison Hooker, director for Korea at the NSC. They will leave the country, Tuesday.
The possible topics to be included at the summit are North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile threats, the ongoing deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here and China’s retaliatory measures, defense-cost sharing and a possible renegotiation of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement.
Cheong Wa Dae said it has not been decided whether Moon will meet with the White House delegates.
“It is yet to be confirmed whether President Moon will greet the U.S. delegates in person, and we can’t tell you about relevant details,” a presidential official said.
Sources said the delegation may also meet Cheong Wa Dae’ security task force led by former permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva Chung Uiyong.
Chung is a possible candidate for national security office chief.
The White House officials are scheduled to meet Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Lee Jeong-kyu at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well during their stay here.
Meanwhile, June is seen as the optimal time for the two leaders to meet ahead of the G20 Hamburg Summit in July.
This will be the first time that Moon and Trump meet after they were sworn in as president on May 10 and Jan. 20, respectively.
Moon is expected to push for dialogue with North Korea based on close consultations with the U.S.
However, concerns remain that his progressive inter-Korean policy will collide with Trump’s “maximum pressure and engagement” strategy aimed at bolstering sanctions on Pyongyang before seeking a possible dialogue.