By Sangmi Cha
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s foreign minister arrived in Washington on Sunday for talks with her American counterpart on a visit now overshadowed by Joe Biden’s projected win in the U.S. presidential election.
Speaking to reporters after visiting the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Kang Kyung-wha said it was too soon to predict how the new U.S. administration would handle specific issues, but she didn’t expect Biden to return to former U.S. President Barack Obama’s policy of strategic patience toward North Korea.
“From the public remarks made by several of Biden’s aides, I don’t believe it intends to return to the strategic patience of the past,” Kang said, according to Yonhap news agency.
“It should be made based on various progress and achievements made the past three years.”
Yonhap said Kang would meet Biden’s foreign affairs and security members and discuss cooperation during her unusually long visit to the United States, without elaborating.
Kang’s trip came at the invitation from the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who cancelled his planned visit to Seoul last month after President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus.
Her agenda includes sitting with Pompeo on Monday to discuss solidifying the alliance between the two countries and the issues at stake on the Korean peninsula. She had said she would also meet with senators and scholars.
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in on Sunday congratulated Biden for his victory in the U.S. presidential election, saying on Twitter he was looking forward to working with his team for shared values and future relations.
(Reporting by Sangmi Cha, Josh Smith; Editing by Michael Perry)
