[ad_1]
After completing coordination with the Trump administration on the 5th, the Foreign Ministry announced on the 5th that “Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha visited Washington, DC and held a meeting with the foreign ministers of Korea and United States on the 9th “. The Foreign Ministry explained that Kang’s visit to the United States was at the invitation of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and was scheduled in lieu of Secretary Pompeo’s visit to Korea, which was canceled after last month.
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha departed for the United States via Incheon International Airport on the 8th to discuss current issues between Korea and the United States and understand trends after the US presidential elections.However, the general assessment of diplomats is that the re-promotion in the form of Minister Kang’s visit to the United States, rather than Minister Pompeo’s visit to Korea, turned into a “handshake.” This is because it became the appearance that the head of the Korean diplomatic mission came to visit during the “period of regime change” when candidate Biden was elected. Additionally, President Trump expressed his discontent by saying, “This election is not over at all.”
During his visit to the United States, Minister Kang is expected to meet with Delaware Senator Chris Koons, Democratic Party Senator Michelle Planoi and the founder of West Exegek Advisors Strategic Advisory Company. Biden’s closest friend, Congressman Coons, is the next secretary of state, and the Planoy founder, who served as deputy minister for policy in the Department of Defense in the Barack Obama administration, is being mentioned as the next secretary. defense.
However, from the side of the Trump administration, it does not seem happy that a person who visited the United States at his invitation is meeting other candidates who are targets of the “electoral disobedience movement.” A diplomatic source said: “When Trump was elected in the last US presidential election, when a high-ranking official tried to communicate with Trump’s side in advance, I heard that the Obama administration held back and said,” Just there is a US president. The struggle between the regimes is not an exception in the United States. ”
Diplomats are concerned that Biden’s camp side may be offended by the active contact from Trump administration officials, who have already become “time limits” on the Korean government. The Blue House and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently coordinated the visit program for Minister Kang’s visit to the United States, △ White House National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien visited Korea (in November), △ on Under Secretary of State Stephen Vegan (in the year). In a situation where candidate Biden was more likely to win in various opinion polls, he suddenly strengthened contact with officials in the existing administration.
In response, an analysis was raised that the Blue House, fearing that the momentum of the negotiations between the United States and North Korea will be lost if candidate Biden, who revealed the stance to “focus on negotiations at the labor level,” is elected, he is trying to prepare for the last contact between the United States and North Korea with the Trump administration. If President Trump steps down after signing an additional agreement with North Korea, this would not be the move Biden Camp wants, as it could act as a restriction on the next regime’s policy toward North Korea.
“This is not the right time for the foreign minister’s visit because the owner of the next White House has not yet been decided,” said Woo-yeop, director of the US Research Center at the Sejong Institute. “It can make a bad impression on both sides.”
[안정훈 기자][ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
