Unification Minister Lee In-young, right, and Defense Minister Suh Wook attend a Cabinet meeting at the government complex in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
By Kang Seung-woo
Unification Minister Lee In-young has postponed his long-prepared trip to the United States as it was not expected his visit would yield desirable results, according to the ministry, Tuesday.
Starting this year, Lee had been planning a trip to Washington, D.C., to meet the newly inaugurated Joe Biden administration's officials to discuss how to revive stalled North Korean nuclear negotiations and resume cross-border exchanges. Lee is a long-time advocate of engagement with the North.
Inter-Korean ties have been deadlocked since the summit between the U.S. and North Korea in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February 2019 ended without a deal.
"Despite having prepared for the minister's U.S. visit in late June, we decided to put it on hold after considering numerous factors," a senior ministry official said.
According to the official, ongoing uncertainties between South and North Korea as well as U.S. government officials' hectic schedules have led the minister to postpone.
"North Korea has yet to respond to calls from South Korea and the U.S. for dialogue, increasing uncertainties over inter-Korean relations," the official added.
"In addition, many of the U.S. officials involved in North Korea issues are currently on overseas diplomatic trips in June, so we have decided to rearrange the schedule."
Diplomatic observers say even if Lee were to travel to the U.S., there would be little he could do with regard to bringing Pyongyang back to the negotiating table.
"Minister Lee has very forward-leaning ideas for engaging North Korea that may not be immediately actionable. The Moon and Biden administrations have coordinated policies toward Pyongyang, including strengthening the alliance for deterrence, offering humanitarian assistance and showing willingness for denuclearization negotiations with staged sanctions relief," said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University.
"The problem is that the Kim regime is currently not open to engagement because of paranoia over coronavirus contagion and a focus on domestic political housecleaning."
Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, also said, "Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun visited the U.S. recently, while Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong also met with U.S. Secretary State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the G7 Summit last week, so there is little room for Lee to do something with the U.S. side about North Korea issues."
Park also said there would be few chances for Lee to hold a "significant" meeting in the U.S.
"While the Biden administration's officials handling North Korea issues are overseas, it would not be easy to meet members of the U.S. Congress. It isn't really desirable for a minister to just end up meeting with experts from think tanks," he said.
In addition, given that Sung Kim, a new U.S. special representative for North Korea, is highly anticipated to visit here, his trip may also have affected Lee's plans as well.
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