S. Korea's delegation to travel to Beijing for "One Belt, One Road" on request of China
'일대일로' 포럼 정부대표단 내일 방중... 중, 정권바뀌자 초청 China invited a South Korean delegation to its high-profile "Belt and Road Forum". A possible precursor to a thaw in diplomatic relations... as Beijing initially left Seoul out. Meanwhile at home, President Moon is gearing up to send special envoys to key allies and neighbors Connie Kim has the latest on the diplomatic front. A South Korean delegation will be heading to China for the two-day Belt and Road forum that starts on Sunday. Chinese President Xi Jinping asked for a delegation to come when he spoke with President Moon over the phone on Thursday. China had not initially invited Seoul to the forum due to Beijing's strong opposition to the U.S. missile defense system THAAD being deployed to the Korean peninsula,.. but it appears to have had a sudden change of heart following Moon Jae-in's election victory,.. possibly hoping to influence Seoul's decision on THAAD. Elsewhere on the diplomatic front, President Moon is expected to soon name his special envoys to countries including the U.S., China, Japan and Russia where they will discuss bilateral issues and arrange the details of possible future summit meetings. Although the top office says it cannot confirm any of the media reports,… President Moon will reportedly tap former media mogul Hong Seok-hyun as the special envoy to the U.S., Moon Hee-sang and Song Young-gil , of the ruling Democratic Party as special envoys to Japan and Russia, respectively. with a special delegation to Washington soon to be nominated,... the U.S. has also reportedly launched preparations to send its officials to Seoul. In the past, the U.S. delegation sent to meet the President-elect has been led by the Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. However, because that seat is vacant,... it's most likely that Matt Pottinger, Senior Director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council, could lead the delegation to discuss the details of a planned summit between presidents Moon and Trump. The two leaders agreed on the need to hold a summit during their first phone call this week. When they get together, they will most likely discuss their North Korea policies and their bilateral trade pact that President Trump has vowed to either renegotiate or terminate. Connie Kim, Arirang News. Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages Facebook(NEWS): / newsarirang Homepage: http://www.arirang.com Facebook: / arirangtv Twitter: / arirangworld Instagram: / arirangworld
