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| President Moon Jae-in's national security adviser Suh Hoon signs a guest book ahead of a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, at the Department of State, Washington, D.C., Oct. 16. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae |
By Do Je-hae
The South Korean government has shown its determination to keep the denuclearization talks between North Korea and the United States afloat regardless of the result of the U.S. presidential election in November, by confirming the U.S. national security advisor's visit to Seoul in the middle of next month.
Suh Hoon, chief of the National Security Office (NSO), returned from his first trip to the U.S. last week since being appointed in July.
His visit to the U.S. included meetings with his counterpart Robert O'Brien and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. "During his visit to the U.S., Suh was reassured of Washington's unwavering support and trust for the strong Korea-U.S. alliance. The two sides discussed various ways to develop the alliance in a future-oriented manner based on common values," presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok told reporters in a briefing, Sunday.
"The two sides also shared their assessment of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, including the recent military parade in North Korea, and discussed ways to resume dialogue and make substantial progress in order to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of a permanent peace."
It was noticeable that the presidential office said that O'Brien will be reciprocating Suh's visit "sometime next month."
Cheong Wa Dae's early announcement of a visit to Korea by the U.S. national security advisor is seen as a show of the presidential office's determination to facilitate U.S.-North Korea talks regardless of the outcome of the election. For this, Korea and U.S. both see the need to manage the situation on the Korean Peninsula during the uncertainties in the post-election period by maintaining dialogue, according to some experts.
"Although the voting takes place on Nov. 3, the U.S. president remains in the White House until Jan. 19, 2021. So the U.S. still sees the need to take care of issues with the alliance, which is highly important for both countries, at least until the change of power, or a switch in the national security and diplomatic lineup in the case of Trump's reelection. O'Brien's visit to Korea will be taking place in this context," Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told The Korea Times.
"The timing of the visit was probably set by the U.S. Since taking office, O'Brien has not visited Korea yet. On the outside, the purpose of his prospective visit would be to reciprocate Suh's trip to the U.S. But O'Brien's visit to Korea after the U.S. presidential election is essentially about stable management of the situation on the peninsula. Stable management involves reviving dialogue and inhibiting Pyongyang's provocations."
Suh is a key figure in President Moon Jae-in's pro-engagement policy toward North Korea, so he reportedly discussed with O'Brien and Pompeo the President's proposal for a declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Since last month, Moon has repeated his call such a declaration, believing it will help restart the stalled denuclearization talks by partially providing a security guarantee for the North's regime.
After his trip to the U.S., Suh told reporters that South Korea and the U.S. have no different views on the need to formally end the war, saying the denuclearization talks and the declaration should go together.
