South Korea's national security adviser Wi Sung-lac said there is no information yet on a possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. He stated that South Korea will be prepared should the possibility arise. The remarks came after Trump expressed openness to meeting Kim during his visit to South Korea this week.
Accompanying President Lee Jae-myung on his trip to Malaysia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, national security adviser Wi made the remarks on Oct. 26 local time, confirming no specific information on a Trump-Kim meeting. "The information we have is no different from what you already know. We've only seen the news reports as well," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur. "But we are prepared for any scenario."
Trump is scheduled to make a state visit to South Korea on Wednesday and Thursday for the APEC summit in the southeastern city of Gyeongju. The two leaders last met at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019, following their first summit in Singapore in June 2018 and the second in Hanoi in February 2019.
Lee is not scheduled to meet Trump in Kuala Lumpur, as their summit is planned in South Korea on Wednesday, but left open the possibility of a brief encounter on the margins of Monday's ASEAN summit. During the gathering, Lee will outline Seoul's peace initiatives for the Korean Peninsula to garner support from the 10-member bloc, with a joint declaration on peninsula issues not ruled out. "We are discussing our overall North Korea policy with ASEAN and working to draw support for it," Wi said.
Since taking office in June, Lee has extended an olive branch to North Korea, but Pyongyang has repeatedly rejected dialogue offers. South Korea will also present its vision to deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) established last year, the highest level of ties ASEAN offers a dialogue partner.
Lee will unveil what Seoul calls the "CSP vision," positioning ASEAN as a partner in creating dreams and hope, a springboard for growth and innovation, and a partner for peace and stability. "The upcoming summit is expected to serve as the debut stage showcasing the Lee administration's emphasis on relations with ASEAN," Wi said.
On Monday, Lee will attend the ASEAN Plus Three summit, paving the way for his first in-person meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, expected to be brief. Lee plans a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit, while consultations are under way for a formal meeting with Takaichi there.
Separately, in response to Trump's remarks calling North Korea "sort of a nuclear power," a presidential official said South Korea and the U.S. are closely coordinating toward their joint goal of Korean Peninsula denuclearization. Trump stated aboard Air Force One on Friday: "They got a lot of nuclear weapons. I'll say that."