Moon to meet China's Xi, Pence, Putin

President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with senior Goldman Sachs economist Kwon Goo-hoon at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. Moon appointed Kwon as head of the presidential advisory committee to help bolster economic ties with North Korea. Yonhap

By Kim Yoo-chul

President Moon Jae-in plans to hold summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of this year's ASEAN and APEC meetings in Singapore and Papua New Guinea, respectively.

In a media briefing at Cheong Wa Dae, Nam Gwan-pyo, deputy chief of the presidential national security office, said Moon will visit Singapore for four days from November 13 to participate in summits between South Korea and ASEAN, and ASEAN with South Korea, Japan and China.

Moon then will visit Papua New Guinea for two days from November 17 to participate in the APEC forum, Nam said. APEC is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, while ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“A plan for a summit between Moon and Putin has been confirmed,” Nam said. “President Moon is set to hold an in-person meeting with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Chances are high that President Moon will hold a face-to-face meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the ASEAN and APEC sessions.”

The bilateral summits come after a planned meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong-chol, scheduled for this week in New York, was delayed.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Washington will reconvene the meeting when respective schedules permit, adding that the United States remains focused on fulfilling the commitments agreed to by U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Singapore summit in June.

Cheong Wa Dae said Washington has notified it of the delay. Its spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told reporters Seoul is still hoping to see an early reset of the meeting.

It is still unknown whether President Moon will use the ASEAN and APEC summits to highlight his ambitious “sanctions-easing” message toward North Korea, as Moon's efforts with that pitch fell flat during his recent visit to European capitals.