청 "Seo Hoon, National Security Office Director, to Visit US, Meet Secretary of State Pompeo" (Comprehensive)

Visiting Washington from 13th to 16th at the invitation of the U.S. government... Meeting with White House National Security Advisor O'Brien

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] Seo Hoon, Director of the National Security Office, is visiting Washington at the invitation of the U.S. government to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Kang Min-seok, spokesperson for the Blue House, stated on the 15th, "Director Seo visited Washington from the 13th to the 16th at the invitation of the U.S. government and met with O'Brien, the White House National Security Advisor, on the 14th local time."

Spokesperson Kang emphasized, "They discussed recent developments on the Korean Peninsula and bilateral issues of mutual interest, reaffirming the strong ROK-U.S. alliance during the meeting."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Director Seo is also scheduled to meet with Secretary Pompeo and other senior U.S. government officials, as well as key figures from major think tanks. This meeting is attracting attention amid the upcoming U.S. presidential election in three weeks and the subsequent changes in the security situation on the Korean Peninsula. Director Seo is expected to exchange views with prominent U.S. officials on overall security issues related to the Korean Peninsula, including recent North Korean developments.

Spokesperson Kang said, "This visit to the U.S., the first since Director Seo took office, will serve as an opportunity to strengthen strategic communication between the two countries' National Security Councils (NSC) through consultations on North Korea-related issues including denuclearization and coordination on key alliance matters, while reaffirming the support of the U.S. political and public spheres for the strong ROK-U.S. alliance."

Previously, the ROK-U.S. National Security Directors maintained communication through two phone consultations and several exchanges of letters. Although face-to-face talks were discussed immediately after Director Seo's appointment, the schedule could not be finalized due to circumstances on the U.S. side.

Spokesperson Kang explained, "Due to O'Brien's COVID-19 diagnosis, the postponement of the G7 summit, and domestic political schedules in the U.S., the schedule had not been finalized, but this visit by the National Security Director marked the first face-to-face consultation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.