[News Focus] Park, Obama set to tackle alliance, N. Korea tension
By Korea HeraldPublished : May 27, 2015 - 21:13
South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s planned visit to the United States next month is expected to reassure the bilateral alliance amid growing tension on the Korean Peninsula over Pyongyang’s intensified nuclear threats and increasingly closer relationship between Tokyo and Washington.
Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday that Park planned to visit Washington for four days upon the invitation of U.S. President Barack Obama. The two leaders will hold a summit at the White House on June 16 to discuss a wide range of issues including North Korea’s recent underwater test launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine.
Park will be visiting South Korea’s traditional and key ally for the second time after she entered office in early 2013.
The upcoming summit is expected to serve as an occasion to reaffirm the importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance to actively cope with global challenges as well as changing politics on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement.
Washington also welcomed Park’s visit, stressing that it would “underscore the strength and breadth” of the relations amid growing tension with North Korea.
“President Obama and President Park will exchange views on a broad range of security, economic, and global issues, including the U.S.-ROK alliance and the critical role it plays in assuring regional stability and security,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest in a statement.
“They will discuss the current security situation on the Korean Peninsula in the face of the continued threat from North Korea,” he said. The leaders will also discuss ways to strengthen economic cooperation and tackle the issues of environment, health and cybersecurity, he added.
The announcement of Park’s trip came two months after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the U.S. for a rare eight-day visit. Abe’s trip drew keen interest from the international community, particularly from South Korea, as he was seeking an upgraded alliance with Washington at a time when Japan’s relations with Seoul showed no signs of improving.
Seoul has remained reluctant to restore ties with Tokyo primarily due to its lack of atonement for its wartime crimes ― including the sexual enslavement of Korean women ― and its repeated claim to Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo.
Calls have been mounting for Seoul to take a practical step beyond the historical enmity with Tokyo, which is forging a strategic partnership with Washington and also with Beijing, in an apparent move to take an advantageous position in shaping regional security.
Washington is also making efforts to lessen historical tensions between Seoul and Tokyo to promote a three-way cooperation to tackle North Korea’s nuclear threats.
Inter-Korean tensions have been growing after Pyongyang said it had successfully launched an SLBM and held a two-day live fire drill just north of the western maritime border this month.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also purged his defense chief Hyon Yong-chol late last month for disloyalty, South Korean lawmakers said last week quoting a confidential report by the National Intelligence Service.
Park has blamed the North saying its provocations have only escalated military tension in the region, and sparked serious concerns among members of the international community.
Park and Obama are expected to send a stern message to Pyongyang to curb its nuclear ambitions and at the same time urge the reclusive regime to return to the six-party talks for its nuclear disarmament.
On the economic front, the leaders are expected to discuss South Korea’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an U.S.-led multinational free trade agreement. The South Korean leader is expected to seek a new momentum for the bilateral economic ties in energy development and aerospace technology as she plans to visit Houston on a two-day trip before returning home.
By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)
Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday that Park planned to visit Washington for four days upon the invitation of U.S. President Barack Obama. The two leaders will hold a summit at the White House on June 16 to discuss a wide range of issues including North Korea’s recent underwater test launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine.
Park will be visiting South Korea’s traditional and key ally for the second time after she entered office in early 2013.
The upcoming summit is expected to serve as an occasion to reaffirm the importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance to actively cope with global challenges as well as changing politics on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement.
Washington also welcomed Park’s visit, stressing that it would “underscore the strength and breadth” of the relations amid growing tension with North Korea.
“President Obama and President Park will exchange views on a broad range of security, economic, and global issues, including the U.S.-ROK alliance and the critical role it plays in assuring regional stability and security,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest in a statement.
“They will discuss the current security situation on the Korean Peninsula in the face of the continued threat from North Korea,” he said. The leaders will also discuss ways to strengthen economic cooperation and tackle the issues of environment, health and cybersecurity, he added.
The announcement of Park’s trip came two months after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the U.S. for a rare eight-day visit. Abe’s trip drew keen interest from the international community, particularly from South Korea, as he was seeking an upgraded alliance with Washington at a time when Japan’s relations with Seoul showed no signs of improving.
Seoul has remained reluctant to restore ties with Tokyo primarily due to its lack of atonement for its wartime crimes ― including the sexual enslavement of Korean women ― and its repeated claim to Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo.
Calls have been mounting for Seoul to take a practical step beyond the historical enmity with Tokyo, which is forging a strategic partnership with Washington and also with Beijing, in an apparent move to take an advantageous position in shaping regional security.
Washington is also making efforts to lessen historical tensions between Seoul and Tokyo to promote a three-way cooperation to tackle North Korea’s nuclear threats.
Inter-Korean tensions have been growing after Pyongyang said it had successfully launched an SLBM and held a two-day live fire drill just north of the western maritime border this month.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also purged his defense chief Hyon Yong-chol late last month for disloyalty, South Korean lawmakers said last week quoting a confidential report by the National Intelligence Service.
Park has blamed the North saying its provocations have only escalated military tension in the region, and sparked serious concerns among members of the international community.
Park and Obama are expected to send a stern message to Pyongyang to curb its nuclear ambitions and at the same time urge the reclusive regime to return to the six-party talks for its nuclear disarmament.
On the economic front, the leaders are expected to discuss South Korea’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an U.S.-led multinational free trade agreement. The South Korean leader is expected to seek a new momentum for the bilateral economic ties in energy development and aerospace technology as she plans to visit Houston on a two-day trip before returning home.
By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)
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Articles by Korea Herald