Park Suhyun: "'Pope is from a warm country' remark was to caution against overheated expectations for North Korea visit"

The view of Cheongwadae from Namsan, Seoul on the 11th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Park Soo-hyun, Senior Secretary for Public Communication at the Blue House, clarified the controversy surrounding Blue House spokesperson Park Kyung-mi's remark that "the Pope is from Argentina, a warm country, so it is difficult for him to travel in winter," stating that it was meant to "caution against overheated expectations about the Pope's visit to North Korea and to emphasize the need for a calm approach."

On the afternoon of the 4th, Park appeared on KBS Radio's 'Choi Young-il's Current Affairs Headquarters' and questioned, "Isn't the expectation that the Pope's visit to North Korea will soon be realized becoming too overheated?"

Park explained, "Spokesperson Park clearly stated that since it is an issue being pursued by the Vatican, it is not appropriate to speak in detail, but the briefing emphasized caution against overheated expectations about the Pope's visit to North Korea and the need to proceed calmly. It seems the media highlighted only that part without providing context, so a comprehensive view is necessary."

Regarding the flood of reports about the failure of the Korea-Japan summit, which had raised expectations in connection with the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), Park expressed regret over the media's use of the term "failure of the summit," stating, "It is premature to say that the Korea-Japan summit to resolve bilateral issues was not held at multilateral meetings like the G20 or COP26, which deal with global issues.

Park said, "Our President Moon Jae-in's schedule did not overlap, and he stayed only for half a day, so calling it a failure of the Korea-Japan summit overlooks the essence of such multilateral meetings. The media should focus on the nature of these multilateral meetings and report on the achievements we are making," emphasizing this point.

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