The trip is President Park Geun-hye’s fourth meeting with her U.S. counterpart since she took office more than two years ago and her second official visit to the United States, Seoul’s closest diplomatic ally.
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“Holding the summit this year, which marks the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation and the division [of the Korean Peninsula], is expected to be an opportunity [for the leaders] to exchange in-depth opinions, not only on the South Korea-U.S. alliance, but also on peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia”, Ju said.
Park is also invited to Vice President Joe Biden’s residence for a luncheon.
Park had originally been scheduled to visit the United States in June, but had to postpone her trip to deal with the outbreak and spread of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in South Korea at the time. Park is set to follow-up her summit diplomacy with trilateral talks with China and Japan later this month or early next month.
But Ms. Park has so far been unwilling to endorse the idea, and a few suggest the South Korean president’s ambiguous posture reflects her unwillingness to upset China, which sees the THAAD deployment as a threat to their own push for military supremacy over the region.
Upon arrival, Park will pay tribute to the Korean War veterans on Wednesday, and visit the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to seek wider cooperation in space industry.
Park said the trip will help strengthen bilateral cooperation in responding to North Korea’s continued development of nuclear weapons and engagement in strategic provocations, as well as to expand the South Korea-U.S. alliance and its partnership in addressing global issues.
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A few 166 business representatives will accompany Park.
