Politics
09:18, 12-Apr-2018
South Korea's national security adviser to meet Bolton ahead of inter-Korean talks
["north america"]
Share
Copied
South Korea's national security adviser was in Washington on Wednesday for his first meeting with his new American counterpart, John Bolton, US officials said, amid preparations for separate US and South Korean summits with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Chung Eui-yong, who is due to see Bolton on Thursday, led the South Korean delegation that met DPRK leader Kim Jong Un last month and then traveled to the United States to convey to President Donald Trump a summit invitation from Kim.
Read more:
Trump accepted the DPRK invitation. He said on Monday that he planned to meet Kim in May or early June and hoped the discussions would ultimately lead to an end of the DPRK's nuclear weapons program.
A White House official confirmed Chung's planned meeting with Bolton.
DPRK's leader Kim Jong Un attends the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, April 9, 2018. /VCG Photo
DPRK's leader Kim Jong Un attends the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, April 9, 2018. /VCG Photo
South Korean officials are wary about Trump's appointment of Bolton, known for his hawkish views, to replace H.R. McMaster as US National Security Adviser.
Bolton, a 69-year-old former US ambassador to the United Nations who took up his new post on Monday, has in the past called for "regime change" in the DPRK and has previously been rejected as a negotiating partner by Pyongyang.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with National Security Advisor John Bolton in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, April 9, 2018. /VCG Photo
President Donald Trump shakes hands with National Security Advisor John Bolton in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, April 9, 2018. /VCG Photo
Bolton said last month after he was named to his new role that the United States must use the summit to “cut to the chase” on the denuclearization issue and accused Pyongyang of seeking to “buy more time” through talks with the United States to develop its nuclear weapons.
Japanese national security adviser Shotaro Yachi was also expected to visit Washington to meet Bolton ahead of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's talks with Trump next week, a US official said.
11159km
Source(s): Reuters