Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
US envoy for East Asia visits Seoul to discuss pending security affairs
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, right, speaks with David R. Stilwell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, at the Centara Grand at Central World Hotel in Bangkok on Aug. 1 on the sidelines of this year's ASEAN Regional Forum. Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
US top defense cost negotiator makes surprise visit to Seoul
By Lee Min-hyung
David R. Stilwell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, embarked on a three-day trip to Seoul, Tuesday, to discuss pending security issues with South Korea's ranking diplomats and senior government officials.
His Seoul visit came amid looming security uncertainty on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of North Korea's intermittent missile provocations.
Attention is on whether he will make any remarks on the long-simmering diplomatic feud between South Korea and Japan which mostly stems from their historic dispute. South Korea wants the U.S. to actively intervene to help improve the relations between Washington's top two Asian allies.
“Stilwell's major schedule here includes his planned meetings with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young on Wednesday morning, and both sides will discuss such a wide range of security issues on the peninsula,” an official from the ministry said.
The U.S. envoy for East Asia will particularly place a priority in asking for South Korea's active backing in Washington's Indo-Pacific Strategy when he meets with Kang, according to the U.S. Department of State.
U.S. President Donald Trump was seeking hegemony in Washington's strategic Asian territories to better counter growing economic and political challenges from China. Washington is wary of a stronger quasi-alliance among China, Russia and North Korea at a time when the U.S.-led trilateral security partnership with South Korea and Japan is showing signs of faltering after the continued tit-for-tat between the two countries.
Last month while in Japan, the U.S. envoy expressed his views that the ongoing diplomatic tit-for-tat between the two countries does no good for the trilateral security alliance among the allies.
Stilwell will likely share Washington's message that South Korea's decision not to renew a military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan goes against the security alliance. In August, Seoul decided to terminate the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Tokyo, as a corresponding step against the latter's earlier trade restrictive measures against Seoul.
Stilwell will also likely discuss the ongoing defense cost-sharing negotiations between South Korea and the U.S. But as the dialogue is still underway, Kang and Stilwell are not expected to delve into details, such as the sensitive cost-sharing burden, during their planned meeting.
On Tuesday, James DeHart, the U.S.' top negotiator for defense cost-sharing talks with South Korea, made a visit to Seoul to engage in a series of unofficial stops here. His visit was viewed as a “surprise” by many in the diplomatic arena.
“We believe his visit is a good momentum for the U.S. to hear in detail what South Korea's repeated position of seeking to sign a reasonable and fair defense cost-sharing deal with the U.S. is,” the official said.
During his four-day visit here, DeHart will also meet with officials from the Ministry of National Defense and the National Assembly. But Seoul's foreign ministry declined to disclose more details.
According to the foreign ministry, the upcoming unofficial dinner meeting between defense cost-sharing delegations from Seoul and Washington is not the third round of negotiations for the 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA), which is scheduled to kick off sometime this month in Seoul.
The SMA is to decide on the cost-sharing burden between Seoul and Washington for the upkeep of the 28,500 U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) troops stationed here.
“After hearing the voices from South Korea's foreign and defense ministries, DeHart will visit Seoul again for the third round of the 11th SMA sometime in November, but the date has yet to be fixed,” the official said.