LOS ANGELES ― President Park Geun-hye wrapped up her U.S. trip on Thursday (Friday morning Korea time) on a mission to promulgate key security initiatives and pitch for wider investment to Korea.

The compact four-night-six-day trip represented her style to a tee ― straight to the point, efficient and extravagance-free.

The summit meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama effectively hailed the two countries’ historical alliance of 60 years and their commitment to an even wider partnership on security, regional and global issues.

But the absence of reconciliatory proposal to North Korea and no visible progress made in pending bilateral sticking points raised questions about whether this summit meeting fell short of going beyond conventional protocol.

Her steadfast messages throughout included strong joint deterrence against North Korea’s provocations while leaving open the door for dialogue and pursuing the trust-building doctrine for the two Koreas and the Northeast Asia peace initiative for the region. She also repeatedly underscored her vision of the future of the Korea-U.S. alliance to extend globally, and urged businesses’ support for her new creative economy drive and continued investment in Korea.

She met most of the notable Korean-native world leaders during her visit, including U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. Park also held three dinners for Korean-Americans of all three major cities to show appreciation.

Park became the sixth South Korean president to speak before a joint meeting of the congress, while her tributary visit to the U.S. war veterans in Washington spoke to the friendship between Koreans and Americans.

On the sidelines of her summit talks with Obama, she also held two exclusive interviews with the American press and dedicated the second half of her schedule to meeting with Korean and American business leaders to reaffirm their cooperation.

After her first overseas trip, Park will head to her second destination next month, China, according to reports.

On her first stop in New York, Park assured Korean-Americans that Korea’s economy remained undamaged by the geopolitical risk, and that Seoul would leave the door open for dialogue with Pyongyang to defuse tension and start a mutual trust-building process.

Park met with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and shared views on mutual issues including the security tensions on the Korean Peninsula and global challenges. It was followed by Park meeting with South Korean employees of the U.N. to praise them for being a good example for young Koreans hoping to advance into international organizations.

In the first summit meeting with Obama in Washington on the second day, the two leaders pledged united, stern action against any provocation by North Korea while leaving the door open for dialogue, and adopted a joint declaration in commemoration of the two countries’ 60-year-old alliance to pursue broader cooperation in security, economics, culture, regional and global issues.

She reiterated such a vision during her 30-minute address before the Senate and House of Representatives, which drew six standing ovations and 40 rounds of applauses.

Park then broke the ice with Korean business leaders who accompanied her on the Washington visit, thanking them for their cooperation in promoting Korean investment to U.S. counterparts.

The last engagement in Washington involved attending a roundtable and a luncheon hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, during which participants shared views on pending business challenges.

Park then moved to Los Angeles for the last leg of the trip, and held a dinner with Korean-Americans here. At the event, Park touted her creative economy vision and vowed to expand wider employment opportunities in Korea for young Koreans living overseas and vice versa.

The last engagement in LA was to hold a debate with Korean-American representatives about Park’s vision for a so-called creative economy and attend a luncheon hosted by LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

By Lee Joo-hee, Korea Herald correspondent
(jhl@heraldcorp.com)