Korea-U.S. summit under discussion: officials

South Korea and the United States are working to arrange a summit between their leaders on the sidelines of regional meetings planned for next week, officials at Cheong Wa Dae said Monday.

According to sources, working-level officials from the two governments have been setting the date and other details as they have agreed on the need to hold the summit. The summit between presidents Park Geun-hye and Barack Obama could take place during the East Asia Summit to be held on Nov. 12 and 13 in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, or during the G20 Summit to be held on Nov. 15 and 16 in Brisbane, Australia, said officials who declined to be named.

The two leaders are set to attend the meetings after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Nov. 10 and 11 in Beijing.

The envisioned summit would be their first meeting in six months. The two held a summit when Obama visited Seoul in April during his Asian tour.

In the expected meeting, the leaders are likely to discuss recent developments on the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea’s vague attitude toward a proposed inter-Korean dialogue and its hostile reactions to anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets flown by South Korean civic groups. The talk is also likely to include follow-up discussions on last month’s agreement to delay the handover of wartime control from Washington to Seoul.

The meeting could send a message to Pyongyang as Park and Obama are each set to hold separate summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit, observers said. Beijing has traditionally been Pyongyang’s economic and political protector.

On the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Brisbane, Park will meet Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to seek ways to expand bilateral cooperation on construction and infrastructure projects, said Ju Chul-ki, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs.

A source in Seoul said that it would not be easy for Park to hold a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Beijing, where they will both be attending the APEC summit next week.

“No preparation has been made so far for a bilateral meeting” between Park and Abe next week, the source said, according to Yonhap.

Abe has twice requested to hold a summit with Park this fall to improve their countries’ deteriorating ties. Park, instead, has repeatedly demanded that Japan show a sincere attitude toward historic disputes as a prerequisite for a summit.

The two have not met one-on-one since Park took office early last year.

By Cho Chung-un, news reports()