Han met Sherman... President Moon and Foreign Minister Jeong Ui-yong pay a visit

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Inho Yoo, Jieun Lee, Yujin Cho] Following Japan, Wendy Sherman, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, who visited South Korea on the 22nd, is expected to meet sequentially with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and President Moon Jae-in to discuss ways to bring North Korea to the dialogue table. Attention is also focused on whether North Korea-U.S. talks will get back on track as Sherman’s visit to China was confirmed on the same day.

At around 10 a.m. on the day, Deputy Secretary Sherman visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul to meet Minister Chung, exchanged elbow greetings, and held a private meeting. Both sides shared opinions on the Korea-U.S. alliance, the Korean Peninsula issue, global issues including climate change and COVID-19 response, as well as North Korea-related matters. Mark Lambert, recently appointed as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Korea and Japan, succeeding Mark Napier, and Kin Moy, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asia and Pacific, also attended the meeting.

Afterwards, Deputy Secretary Sherman moved to the Blue House to meet President Moon. It is observed that the discussion included key bilateral issues discussed at the Korea-U.S. summit, the North Korea issue, and the Korean Peninsula peace process. Sherman had a private schedule in the afternoon and on the morning of the 23rd, held the main purpose of the visit, the 9th Korea-U.S. Deputy Foreign Ministers Strategic Dialogue, before heading to Mongolia.

Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary Sherman will also make a surprise visit to China on the 25th. The U.S. State Department announced in a press release on the 21st (local time) that Sherman will visit China from the 25th to 26th and meet Chinese officials including Wang Yi, State Councilor and Foreign Minister, in Tianjin. The China visit, which was not included in the initial itinerary, was added at the last minute.

During this visit to China, Sherman is expected to discuss various agendas including efforts to bring North Korea back to the nuclear negotiation table, the Iran issue, and climate change. Especially, since North Korea has not responded positively despite the Biden administration’s outreach attempts, this visit is anticipated to be an opportunity to seek a breakthrough in North Korea-U.S. relations. Ned Price, spokesperson for the State Department, said at a briefing that “As far as North Korea is concerned, it is fair to say that we have some overlapping interests with China.” After the announcement of Sherman’s China visit plan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also emphasized in a statement that “This meeting was arranged at the proposal of the United States.”

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