President Park Geun-hye and her U.S. counterpart Barack Obama agreed Friday to reschedule their postponed summit as soon as possible as Seoul seeks to forestall any fallout from her last-minute cancellation of her trip to Washington.
They had a phone conversation two days after Park decided to delay her visit, which Cheong Wa Dae said was aimed at focusing on coping with the Middle East respiratory syndrome epidemic here.
As the outbreak continued to spiral, controversy erupted over whether she should scrap the trip. Some ranking officials, including top diplomats, opposed a cancellation. But public sentiment appears to have held more sway, prompting senior members of the ruling Saenuri Party to chip in and support calls from opposition lawmakers.
During the phone conversation, Obama displayed support for her “decision, judgment and leadership,” relaying his condolences to the MERS victims and their bereaved families, the presidential office said.
“President Obama said he has instructed aides to hold consultations at the most convenient and quickest time possible so that her visit to the U.S. can be rearranged,” it said in a press statement.
“He also referred to the South Korea-U.S. alliance as Washington’s ‘top priority,’ stressing that reinforcing the partnership on new fronts such as North Korea’s threats, climate change and cybersecurity will greatly help not only the two countries, but also around the world.”
Park, for her part, expressed gratitude for his understanding and hopes for an early formal ratification of their bilateral civilian nuclear energy pact that was forecast to be signed by the two leaders during her visit.
The allies initialed an amendment to their 1974 accord in April, paving the way for Seoul to pursue reprocessing spent fuel rods through nascent technology called pyroprocessing and enriching uranium to low levels on a limited, consensus-required basis.
Obama endorsed the deal Thursday, which he said will promote “common defense and security.”
“I have determined that the performance of the proposed agreement will promote, and will not constitute an unreasonable risk to, the common defense and security,” Obama said in a memorandum for the secretary of state and the secretary of energy.
“I hereby approve the proposed agreement and authorize the secretary of state to arrange for its execution.”
After an official signing, the agreement will be sent to the U.S. Congress for a 90-day review, which means it may take up to six months. It will then take effect if it is not opposed.
Park has already granted her approval and, unlike in the U.S., no parliamentary authorization is needed here for the pact to come into force.
By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)
