The United States is believed to have started putting together a delegation of officials to be dispatched to South Korea to lay the groundwork for the first summit between President Donald Trump and South Korea's new President Moon Jae-in, sources said Thursday.
Trump said in his first phone call with Moon on Wednesday that he will send a high-level delegation to Seoul to discuss Moon's first visit to Washington as president. Moon also said he would send a special envoy to Washington to lay the groundwork for his first meeting with Trump.
(Yonhap)
Diplomatic sources said the envisioned US delegation is expected to be similar in size and level to previous ones.
Past US delegations to South Korea's president-elect were usually led by the assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs and consisted of three to four members, including the assistant secretary of defense and the senior Asian affairs director at the National Security Council.
In 2003, the US sent a delegation led by the Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly to visit then President-elect Roh Moo-hyun. In 2008, then Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill visited Seoul to meet with President-elect Lee Myung-bak. In 2013, Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell visited Seoul to meet with then President-elect Park Geu-hye.
But the problem is that both the assistant secretaries of state and defense are vacant positions.
Sources said that either Acting Assistant Secretary of State Susan Thornton or Senior NSC Asia affairs Director Matt Pottinger could lead the delegation. (Yonhap)