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| Cheong Wa Dae says that contents regarding President Moon Jae-in in former U.S. security adviser Bolton's memoir are not factual. Yonhap |
By Do Je-hae
There is a rift between Korea and the United States in dealing with North Korea, and the leaders of the two countries seem to have failed to build trust, according to a memoir by U.S. President Donald Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton.
The contents of the memoir regarding Trump's activities in relation to the Korean Peninsula have been splashed across Korean media recently.
They have been made public amid escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula following the North's hostile words and activities including the recent destruction of the inter-Korean liaison office in Gaeseong.
Some of the contents are considered quite insulting to Cheong Wa Dae, which has touted President Moon Jae-in's role as the "driver" in the Korean Peninsula "peace process."
One of the incidents in the memoir that can be embarrassing to President Moon is that both Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not want Moon around during their impromptu meeting at the border village of Panmunjeom in June 2019.
According to Bolton, Moon made the suggestion that Trump and Kim meet on a naval vessel or at Panmunjeom after their failed Hanoi summit because the South Korean leader wanted "something dramatic to generate momentum for what he thought could be the summit of the century," according to the memoir titled, "The Room Where it Happened."
"Trump wanted Moon nowhere around, but Moon was determined to be present, making it a trilateral meeting if he could," he said. "I entertained the faint hope that this dispute with Moon could tank the whole thing, because it was certain Kim didn't want Moon around," the memoir reads.
Trump also threatened in August last year to pull all American troops from the peninsula if Seoul did not pay $5 billion for their upkeep, before the two nations started negotiations on their defense cost-sharing for 2020. It showed Trump dealt with the issue in a transactional way rather than valuing the South Korea-U.S. alliance.
"Get out of there if we don't get the 5 billion-dollar deal," Trump was quoted as saying by Bolton.
Cheong Wa Dae initially kept quiet about the Bolton's claims, saying that it was inappropriate for the presidential office to respond to a personal memoir, not a diplomatic document.
But Yoon Do-han, senior presidential secretary to President for public communication, conveyed to reporters Monday the position of national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, who had been Bolton's counterpart.
"In his memoir, Bolton expressed his view of the situation related to consultations between the leaders of South Korea, the United States and North Korea. It doesn't reflect the exact facts. Much of it distorts the facts," Yoon said in a briefing at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. "Unilateral disclosure of what has been discussed based on mutual trust between governments violates the basic principles of diplomacy and can seriously undermine the credibility of future negotiations."
Cheong Wa Dae called on the U.S. to take necessary measures to prevent the leak of diplomatic consultations.
"We expect the U.S. government to take appropriate measures to prevent such dangerous cases. Such inappropriate behavior could seriously undermine efforts to maintain and develop a common strategy in the Korea-U.S. alliance and strengthen the security interests of both countries."
