How President Park Geun-hye will be treated during her visit to the U.S. this week is drawing keen attention as it comes at a delicate juncture when she should show strong unity with the U.S. against North Korea and dispel the growing impression that Seoul is tilting toward Beijing.
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| President Park Geun-hye shakes hands with Saenuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung before boarding the presidential plane at the Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday. (Yonhap) |
Like her visit to the U.S. in May 2013, her trip to Washington this time is also an “official working visit” — a notch down from the “state visit” that involves more ceremonial events, which some experts say was a decision to place wider focus on “practical” issues.
Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to the U.S. for a state visit. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the U.S. in April was an official visit, but he was seen being wined and dined with greater distinguishment than his predecessors in recent memory, with the media depicting the U.S.-Japan relations as having entered a new “honeymoon” period.
A Seoul official told The Korea Herald that there is no special political meaning for Park visiting the U.S. for an official visit rather than a state visit.
“A South Korean president usually travels to the U.S. for a state visit once during his or her term. The president makes a state visit in the early part of the five-year term or in the latter part,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
“Both countries do not pay much attention to whether it is a state visit or not. Even though she traveled to the U.S. for an official working visit in 2013, she was treated as if she was on a state visit then.”
But there seem to be subtle differences between the different levels of presidential visits.
During his recent state visit to the U.S., Chinese leader Xi stayed at the Blair House, the official state guesthouse of the White House. He was also invited to an extravagant state dinner event hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama.
But there is no schedule yet for a state dinner with Obama playing host to Park. But Vice President Joe Biden is to host a dinner event for her, Cheong Wa Dae said, stressing the importance of Biden’s invitation.
“It is a rarity for the vice president to invite a foreign high-level guest to his residence. The invitation underscores the familiarity between South Korea and the U.S.,” Ju Chul-ki, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs, told reporters.
Where Park will stay during her trip to the U.S. also drew attention. Reports say she is not expected to stay at the Blair House.
Whatever treatment she receives, Park’s priority for this trip rests on reaffirming the robust alliance with the U.S. to better cope with Pyongyang’s evolving missile and nuclear threats, observers pointed out.
By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)
