Park to hold talks with Xi, Obama, Putin

By Kang Seung-woo

President Park Geun-hye will hold bilateral summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a three-nation trip, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.

Park will travel today to the Far Eastern Russian city of Vladivostok to attend the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), and then to Hangzhou, China, for a G20 summit. Her last leg of the overseas trip is the Laotian capital Vientiane that will host ASEAN-related forums.

The eight-day trip comes as China and Russia have expressed strong opposition to South Korea’s plan to allow a U.S. anti-missile battery on its soil, and she is expected to seek understanding from their leaders over her decision that they claim will escalate regional military tensions and hurt their security interests.

“On the sidelines of the G20, President Park will hold bilateral talks with the Chinese President, while the South Korea-U.S. summit will be held in Laos,” said Kim Kyou-hyun, the senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and national security, in a briefing without elaborating on when the meetings will be held.

He also said Seoul is in talks with Tokyo for a possible meeting between Park and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who will be on the same itinerary as Park.

Last month, Cheong Wa Dae said the leaders of South Korea and Russia will hold a summit Saturday.

Ahead of the overseas trip, President Park has been advised to use it to ease complaints from China and Russia over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) deployment in order to draw stronger unity from neighboring countries to stop North Korea from advancing its nuclear program.

Recently, international cooperation on sanctions against North Korea showed signs of a rift as China has become reluctant to push the North harder as it protests the planned THAAD deployment in South Korea — although it joined the U.N. last week in condemning the repressive state’s string of ballistic missile tests.

During the fourth summit between Park and Putin, the THAAD issue is likely to be high on the agenda.

Along with THAAD, the two heads of state will discuss North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, while seeking ways to boost their bilateral partnership, according to Park’s office.

Ahead of the summit, Park will attend the EEF, where she will deliver a keynote speech.

Park is scheduled to attend the G20 summit, Sunday and Monday, where she will discuss with world leaders ways to stimulate economic growth and joint efforts to address volatility in the global financial market.

On the sidelines of the G20, Park will speak with Xi in their eighth summit amid escalating tensions between the two countries due to THAAD.

To arrange the summit, First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam made a “sudden” visit to China, Wednesday.

The summit will mainly deal with the THAAD issue, while focusing on healing the rift between the two nations sparked by the issue.

Xi and Putin are also set to hold a summit Sunday in which the situation on the Korean Peninsula is expected to be discussed.

While in China, Park will also hold a bilateral summit with her counterparts from Italy, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

From Wednesday to Thursday, Park will attend the South Korea-ASEAN summit, the ASEAN+3 Summit and the East Asia Summit in the Laotian capital of Vientiane.

The summit between Park and Obama will be their final bilateral talks before the U.S. presidential election in November.

After wrapping up the multilateral forums, Park will begin her two-day official visit to Laos and hold a summit with Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachith before returning home Friday.

Along with the official schedule, Park’s possible meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is another to watch as he will visit China and Laos.

Ban is possibly a leading candidate for next year’s presidential election and lawmakers who are loyal to President Park are seeking to get him to participate in a Saenuri Party primary.

Ban had several private talks with Park during her trip to the U.N. headquarters in New York in September last year.