Bolton Memoir Also Introduces Anecdotes of Japan Being Marginalized During North Korea-US Summit

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Former White House National Security Council (NSC) advisor John Bolton's upcoming memoir, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, partially reveals Japan's diplomatic efforts toward the U.S. ahead of the Singapore North Korea?U.S. summit.

Bolton met with Chung Eui-yong, Director of the Blue House National Security Office, and Yachi Shotaro, Director of Japan's National Security Secretariat, on May 4, 2018. It is known that Chung met Bolton to share discussions from the April 27 inter-Korean summit with the U.S. and to coordinate the North Korea?U.S. summit.

According to Bolton's memoir, after meeting Chung, he met Yachi on the same day, which demonstrated how closely Japan was following the overall process at that time.

The memoir states, "Yachi wanted to counter the euphoria coming out of Seoul and emphasized that we should not be deceived by North Korea's traditional 'action-for-action' approach."

Before the North Korea?U.S. summit, Yachi persuaded the U.S. to expand the scope of demands beyond North Korea's nuclear weapons to include North Korea's weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Bolton, known as a hardliner, accommodated this, and the White House press release at the time reaffirmed the joint goal of the complete and permanent elimination of North Korea's WMD.

During the intense peace diplomacy among South Korea, North Korea, and the U.S., starting with the April 27, 2018 inter-Korean summit, Japan was largely sidelined throughout the process.

The memoir also mentions that President Moon Jae-in said he would recommend President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, but it does not provide detailed context for this statement.

The Blue House stated in a briefing last February, "President Moon believes President Trump is fully deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize," but also clarified, "As far as we know, President Moon did not make a direct recommendation."

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