US Ambassador: "Prompt Holding of ROK-US Summit Important After Biden Administration Inauguration"

"Biden Administration Likely to Return to Familiar Traditional Diplomacy"
"Regret Over Failure to Achieve Results in Efforts to Resume Talks with North Korea"... US-China Conflict Expected to Persist for Considerable Time

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Ambassador Lee Soo-hyuk to the United States emphasized that after the inauguration of the Joe Biden administration in January next year, a South Korea-U.S. summit should be held promptly to reaffirm the South Korea-U.S. alliance and seek progress in the Korean Peninsula peace process.

On the 15th (local time), Ambassador Lee stated in a virtual meeting, "The most important immediate task is to hold a South Korea-U.S. summit as soon as possible after the inauguration of the new U.S. administration next year to further strengthen the alliance and establish a broad direction for progress in the Korean Peninsula peace process." Traditionally, when a U.S. president takes office, the South Korean president visits the U.S. for a summit in the first half of that year. Therefore, with President-elect Biden's inauguration on January 20 next year, it is highly likely that President Moon Jae-in's visit to the U.S. will be discussed concretely.

In particular, Ambassador Lee pointed out that the U.S.-China conflict is likely to continue for a considerable period and emphasized the need to prepare a mid- to long-term roadmap to respond to the Biden administration's U.S.-China policy and the movement to restore multilateralism. He also cited health cooperation tailored to the development status of vaccines and treatments amid the COVID-19 pandemic as a priority task.

Ambassador Lee said, "In the mid- to long-term, we need to carefully analyze the new administration's policy direction toward China and the movement to restore multilateralism to seek South Korea's response measures," adding, "The Biden administration is likely to return to traditional diplomacy." He also analyzed that diplomatic and defense experts who already emphasize the value of alliances and have a deep understanding of the Korean Peninsula issue are being appointed.

Regarding the Korean Peninsula peace process, he expressed regret that South-North-U.S. dialogue could not be smoothly resumed amid the COVID-19 and U.S.-China conflict situations. Ambassador Lee said, "There were difficulties in South Korea-U.S. alliance issues and the Korean Peninsula issue throughout this year," adding, "The most regrettable point is that efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea did not bear fruit. North Korea's internal situation and strategic considerations played a complex role, but I believe the COVID-19 situation had a significant impact." Nevertheless, he said, "It was not a meaningless year," and assessed, "South Korea and the U.S. maintained seamless cooperation on the Korean Peninsula issue, and as a result, peace was maintained without major tensions."

Perhaps mindful of the controversy arising from remarks surrounding South Korea-U.S. relations, Ambassador Lee took a cautious stance on bilateral issues. He mentioned the revision of the South Korea-U.S. missile guidelines, the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) negotiations on defense cost-sharing, and the resolution of Korean workers' wage issues, evaluating that "there has been meaningful progress on alliance issues."

Meanwhile, Ambassador Lee is reportedly planning to engage with the U.S. Congress to dispel concerns within the United States regarding the recently passed law banning the distribution of leaflets to North Korea (amendment to the Act on the Development of Inter-Korean Relations). Foreign Ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam explained in a regular briefing the day before, "The government respects human rights as a non-negotiable value above all else," adding, "Nevertheless, this legal amendment also emphasizes that it is a minimum measure to protect the safety of residents living in our border areas."

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