Trump expressed desire to meet Yoon before inauguration, says Seoul's national security adviser

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Trump expressed desire to meet Yoon before inauguration, says Seoul's national security adviser

Published: 24 Nov. 2024, 16:23 Updated: 24 Nov. 2024, 18:25

SARAH KIM
[email protected]

National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik, right watches Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speak at a trilateral summit with the leaders of the United States and Japan on the margins of the APEC summit in Peru on Nov. 15. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

South Korean National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik said Sunday that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has expressed his desire to meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol before taking office next January.

Shin, who was present during Yoon and Trump's phone call last month, said in an interview with Yonhap News TV that President-elect Trump "mentioned first that he would like to meet [Yoon] three or four times" ahead of his inauguration for a second term on Jan. 20 next year.

However, Shin said that Trump has since then "established a principle of not meeting foreign leaders before his inauguration, taking into account personnel matters, domestic issues, preparations prior to the inauguration and the fact that many countries want to meet him in advance."

He said that Seoul is "in close communication" with Trump's side and will continue to be in touch.

Yoon and Trump held a 12-minute phone call on Nov. 7, two days after the former U.S. president was re-elected to the White House. Despite speculation that Yoon could possibly meet with Trump during his trip to Peru and Brazil to attend the APEC and G20 summits earlier this month, the early first talks didn't pan out.

Shin said in the interview that Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to visit South Korea on the occasion of the 2025 APEC summit to be held in Gyeongju, North Gyesongsang, next year. Yoon and Xi held their first summit in some two years in Peru on the sidelines of the APEC summit on Nov. 15.

He added the possibility is higher because China is set to host the 2026 APEC summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui during a meeting in Moscow on Nov. 4. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Seoul also "can't rule out the possibility of a visit to Russia" by North Korea's Kim Jong-un to meet with President Vladimir Putin, Shin said.

This comes after North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui visited Moscow and met with Putin on Nov. 4.

Kim and Putin held their first summit in Vladivostok in April 2019, followed later by a second summit at Vostochny Cosmodrome, a spaceport in Russia's Far East, in September 2023. The two leaders were reunited for another summit in Pyongyang in June, an opportunity to seal a mutual defense treaty elevating bilateral military ties to another level.

"It could be a visit in return for Russian President Putin's visit to North Korea in June, or it could be a courtesy meeting for Putin to thank North Korea for sending troops," Shin said, noting that Seoul will be monitoring such a potential visit as it could "deal with a number of sensitive issues."

Seoul's top spy agency, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), also predicted on Wednesday that Kim could visit Russia following Choe's meeting with Putin.

There is also a "high likelihood" that North Korea will launch a reconnaissance satellite before the end of the year, Shin said.

"There are no signs of an imminent launch yet, but preparations are in the final stages," Shin said, adding that a "launch is highly likely before the end of the year."

In May, North Korea failed to launch a spy satellite. North Korea successfully launched its first spy satellite, the Maligyong-1, into orbit in November 2023 after two failed attempts earlier that year.

Shin also confirmed the possibility of an additional deployment of North Korean troops to Russia.

This comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country could face 100,000 North Korean soldiers while speaking to EU nations last week to urge European countries to intensify their military aid in a speech to mark the 1,000 day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, although Shin refrained from endorsing that estimate.

The adviser said, however, that in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, "each side is pushing to recapture the Kursk region [in Russia] for an early end to the war next year, but if North Korean troops are sent into battles, casualties will increase, and additional troops must be dispatched to supplement the maintenance of existing troops."

He added that while he is not certain of the scale of soldiers needed to replenish existing troops, "there is a significant possibility that it will increase compared to now.

On Friday, Shin told local broadcaster SBS that Russia had sent anti-air missiles in return for North Korea's troop dispatch to Russia for the Ukrainian war.

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]