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| President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook wave before boarding a plane for Washington at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. This is Moon's first overseas trip since taking office, May 10. He is scheduled to hold a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, Friday. / Yonhap |
4-day tour begins with visit to memorial for Jangjin Lake Campaign
By Jun Ji-hye
President Moon Jae-in headed to the United States, Wednesday, for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The first-ever summit since the launch of the two countries' new governments will take place Friday and is expected to focus on reaffirming their alliance and promoting personal friendship between the heads of state.
The two leaders are also expected to touch on thorny issues such as North Korea's nuclear and missile threats as well as the deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Korea.
Other challenging issues include the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) as concerns have been raised about possible renegotiations after Trump denounced the agreement as a "job-killing" deal and a "disaster."
Experts are watching how far Moon and Trump can engage in increased mutual understanding on the tough issues facing the two nations.
"We hope the two heads of state will develop empathy on the significance and value of the alliance, so they can enhance cooperation in foreign and security affairs as well as in the economic field," said Chung Eui-yong, head of the presidential National Security Office.
Moon will begin his four-day tour with a visit to the new memorial for the Jangjin Lake Campaign in Quantico, Virginia, Thursday.
Also known as the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, it was one of the fiercest battles in the 1950-53 Korean War, and delayed an eventual southward advance of North Korean and Chinese forces. This enabled the evacuation of 90,000 Korean refugees from the besieged port of Hungnam in North Korea to Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province on Christmas Eve in 1950 in an operation known as the Hungnam Evacuation.
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Given that among the refugees were Moon's own parents, his offering of flowers at the memorial will be a symbolic event that gives special significance to the Seoul-Washington alliance.
Moon will then attend a meeting with South Korean and U.S. economic figures, organized by the two sides' chambers of commerce. He will give a speech emphasizing the importance of economic cooperation.
Following a dinner hosted by Trump and his wife, Melania, at the White House, Friday, Moon, together with Vice U.S. President Mike Pence, will lay flowers at a Korean War monument in Washington, along with veterans of the conflict.
Moon and Trump will then hold their first summit, which will be followed by a joint press conference where they will issue a statement on the outcome, according to Cheong Wa Dae officials.
Moon will return home Sunday after meeting with Korean residents living in the United States, Saturday.
During his tour to Washington, Moon will stay three consecutive nights at the U.S. government's VIP guesthouse, Blair House, located across from the White House, the officials noted.
Those who saw Moon and the first lady off at a military airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province included the ruling Democratic Party of Korea Chairwoman Rep. Choo Mi-ae and floor leader Rep. Woo Won-shik as well as interior minister Kim Boo-kyum and acting U.S. Ambassador Marc Knapper.
Before boarding his plane, Moon asked the ruling party leadership to work hard to pass an 11.2 trillion-won ($9.9 billion) supplementary budget bill aimed largely at creating jobs in the public sector, according to party officials.
Moon was quoted as saying, "The bill will only be effective if it is passed on time."
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