The meeting will “demonstrate the close personal ties between the American and Korean people”, the White House said. In a reference to North Korea’s recent landmine blast in the Demilitarized Zone, the president said Seoul will ensure such attacks are not repeated, while also laying a foundation for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
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The White House announced Wednesday from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, where the president is vacationing, that Park’s visit has been rescheduled for October 16. They will chart the expansion of our cooperation into new areas that will increasingly shape the relationship in the 21st century, such as environment, energy, space, health, and cybersecurity.
Since then, the two countries agreed to reschedule a visit at the earliest convenient time.
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Park put off a planned June visit to Washington as South Korea battled an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) that was the largest outside of Saudi Arabia. Thursday’s unusually early announcement, which came two months ahead of a visit, is seen as an effort to underscore the alliance with Washington before Park makes a decision on attending China’s war anniversary ceremony. (Korean: Reuters 1105) (August 10, 2015) “We hope the Japanese government will clearly uphold the historical recognition of previous administrations, taking a mature attitude towards renewing relations with its neighboring countries, including South Korea”.
