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Special Envoy Chung for Korean President-elect Lee Meets with U.S. President Bush
National Assemblyman Chung Mong-joon, a special envoy of Korean President-elect Lee Myung-bak to the United States, met with President George W. Bush at the White House on January 22(Tuesday).
The Korean special envoy Chung had a chance to meet the American president Bush on Tuesday at the office of Stephen Hadley, who serves as U.S. National Security Advisor at the White House.
President Bush paid an unexpected visit to the Hadley’s office while Chung had a meeting with the U.S. national advisor.
Bush reportedly had conversation with Chung for approximately 20 minutes, exchanging opinions on strengthening of the Korea-U.S. alliance, the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue, and other bilateral issues between Seoul and Washington. They also talked about President-elect Lee’s potential visit to the United States.
Chung will be visiting the White House again on Jan. 23 to make a courtesy call on U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.
Earlier this afternoon, Chung met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte. He could not meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has been currently touring Europe.
Chung, a businessman and five-term legislator, arrived in Washington earlier on Monday for a seven-day visit.
The four-person delegation led by Chung includes Korea’s former Foreign Minister Han Seung-joo, Congressman Hwang Jin-ha from the Grand National Party, and Kim Woo-sang, a political science professor at Yonsei University, who serves as a special advisor to the Korean president-elect on foreign affairs.
The special envoy’s official trip to Washington began with his meeting with chief U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill to discuss the North Korean nuclear issue.
They will also hold a media roundtable in New York before returning to Seoul on Sunday.
KoreaUS.net (Posted 1/23/08)