ID :
55961
Fri, 04/17/2009 - 13:59
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/55961
The shortlink copeid
Seoul-Washington diplomatic lines not in full service yet
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, April 17 (Yonhap) -- Diplomatic consultation channels between South Korea
and its key ally, the United States, are not in full operation yet ahead of major
bilateral schedules, as the Obama administration's senior post handling regional
affairs remains vacant, a government source here said Friday.
The South Korean government customarily coordinates alliance issues with the U.S.
through a couple of key lines -- the National Security Council (NSC) and the
State Department.
"Currently, however, the (South Korean) government mainly handles pending issues
in consultations with the team of Jeffrey Bader, senior director for Asian
affairs at the NSC," a foreign ministry source said.
Consultations through the State Department are not as active as those via the NSC
because the U.S. has yet to appoint an assistant secretary of state for East
Asian and Pacific affairs, the source added.
Kurt Campbell, who served as deputy secretary of defense for Asia and Pacific
affairs under the former Clinton administration, is widely expected to assume the
post. There are no reports on why the U.S. government is delaying the formal
appointment, but rumors have circulated that Campbell may need more time to clear
his financial involvement in the Center for a New American Security. He is chief
executive officer of the Washington think tank.
The absence of the top U.S. official handling Korean affairs, with Washington's
new regional policy still in the making, is a setback for South Korean officials
preparing a new blueprint for the two sides' future alliance, which is set to be
adopted at the June 16 summit in Washington between their presidents.
But the fallout from the vacancy has been minimized on North Korea policy
coordination as the Obama administration has a high-level envoy on the matter,
Stephen Bosworth.
Christopher Hill, the previous assistant secretary of state for Asia and the
Pacific, was the key channel for Seoul's communications with Washington on the
North Korean problem and other alliance issues. He had also doubled as
Washington's chief delegate to the six-way talks on the North's denuclearization.
"The North Korean nuclear issue is now largely discussed through Bosworth's
assistant, Sung Kim (the State Department's special envoy on the six-way talks),"
the source said.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, April 17 (Yonhap) -- Diplomatic consultation channels between South Korea
and its key ally, the United States, are not in full operation yet ahead of major
bilateral schedules, as the Obama administration's senior post handling regional
affairs remains vacant, a government source here said Friday.
The South Korean government customarily coordinates alliance issues with the U.S.
through a couple of key lines -- the National Security Council (NSC) and the
State Department.
"Currently, however, the (South Korean) government mainly handles pending issues
in consultations with the team of Jeffrey Bader, senior director for Asian
affairs at the NSC," a foreign ministry source said.
Consultations through the State Department are not as active as those via the NSC
because the U.S. has yet to appoint an assistant secretary of state for East
Asian and Pacific affairs, the source added.
Kurt Campbell, who served as deputy secretary of defense for Asia and Pacific
affairs under the former Clinton administration, is widely expected to assume the
post. There are no reports on why the U.S. government is delaying the formal
appointment, but rumors have circulated that Campbell may need more time to clear
his financial involvement in the Center for a New American Security. He is chief
executive officer of the Washington think tank.
The absence of the top U.S. official handling Korean affairs, with Washington's
new regional policy still in the making, is a setback for South Korean officials
preparing a new blueprint for the two sides' future alliance, which is set to be
adopted at the June 16 summit in Washington between their presidents.
But the fallout from the vacancy has been minimized on North Korea policy
coordination as the Obama administration has a high-level envoy on the matter,
Stephen Bosworth.
Christopher Hill, the previous assistant secretary of state for Asia and the
Pacific, was the key channel for Seoul's communications with Washington on the
North Korean problem and other alliance issues. He had also doubled as
Washington's chief delegate to the six-way talks on the North's denuclearization.
"The North Korean nuclear issue is now largely discussed through Bosworth's
assistant, Sung Kim (the State Department's special envoy on the six-way talks),"
the source said.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
