Key U.S. officials in charge of N. Korea nuclear issue absent from dinner banquet on Saturday
- 5 years ago
Two key U.S. officials in charge of the North Korea nuclear issue were originally scheduled to attend the dinner banquet at South Korea's Presidential Office last night... but dropped out at the last minute.
It turned out, they left their hotel in Seoul at around 4 p.m. and returned at 10.
Could they have talked with the North to arrange the so-called "Handshake meeting"?
Oh Jung-hee reports.
Key U.S. officials in charge of the North Korea nuclear issue Stephen Biegun and Allison Hooker did not take part in the dinner banquet held by Seoul's Presidential Office on Saturday to welcome President Trump.
And this raises a question did Biegun and Hooker have an encounter with North Korean officials to arrange a possible handshake meeting between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump at the inter-Korean border?
U.S. Special Representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, reportedly left his hotel in Seoul at around 4 in the afternoon.
He came back six hours later, at 10 p.m. with Allison Hooker, the Korea director at the U.S. National Security Council.
The two were originally scheduled to attend the dinner banquet at Chung Wa Dae but didn't appear at the banquet.
When asked whether he talked with North Korean officials, Biegun didn't provide details but only said he "won't take any questions."
When leaving his hotel earlier in the day, he'd been asked a similar question, to which he responded "he's very busy."
Reports arose... that working-level officials from Pyeongyang and Washington were communicating on Saturday to arrange Kim and Trump's surprise encounter at the Demilitarized Zone.
The channel a direct hotline between the UN Command and the North Korean military.
Biegun and Hooker's six-hour absence, therefore, led to views that they could have been involved in the communication work.
Nothing is for certain.
And South Korea's Presidential Office declined to comment on the matter, saying Seoul is not aware of why the two U.S. officials had to be absent.
But if the two were indeed working to settle protocols and other issues with the North, it's likely such work would continue on Sunday as well... because the six hours on Saturday would not have been long enough.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.
It turned out, they left their hotel in Seoul at around 4 p.m. and returned at 10.
Could they have talked with the North to arrange the so-called "Handshake meeting"?
Oh Jung-hee reports.
Key U.S. officials in charge of the North Korea nuclear issue Stephen Biegun and Allison Hooker did not take part in the dinner banquet held by Seoul's Presidential Office on Saturday to welcome President Trump.
And this raises a question did Biegun and Hooker have an encounter with North Korean officials to arrange a possible handshake meeting between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump at the inter-Korean border?
U.S. Special Representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, reportedly left his hotel in Seoul at around 4 in the afternoon.
He came back six hours later, at 10 p.m. with Allison Hooker, the Korea director at the U.S. National Security Council.
The two were originally scheduled to attend the dinner banquet at Chung Wa Dae but didn't appear at the banquet.
When asked whether he talked with North Korean officials, Biegun didn't provide details but only said he "won't take any questions."
When leaving his hotel earlier in the day, he'd been asked a similar question, to which he responded "he's very busy."
Reports arose... that working-level officials from Pyeongyang and Washington were communicating on Saturday to arrange Kim and Trump's surprise encounter at the Demilitarized Zone.
The channel a direct hotline between the UN Command and the North Korean military.
Biegun and Hooker's six-hour absence, therefore, led to views that they could have been involved in the communication work.
Nothing is for certain.
And South Korea's Presidential Office declined to comment on the matter, saying Seoul is not aware of why the two U.S. officials had to be absent.
But if the two were indeed working to settle protocols and other issues with the North, it's likely such work would continue on Sunday as well... because the six hours on Saturday would not have been long enough.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.