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Senior Korean and U.S. diplomats are miffed at being kept out of the process of scheduling a meeting between Korean opposition presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President George W. Bush. Observers speculate that the Lee-Bush meeting, scheduled during a four-day U.S. visit by Lee that starts on Oct. 14, could now be canceled. A diplomatic source familiar with Korean-U.S. relations said the White House ˇ°missed a chanceˇ± to seek understanding from the U.S. State Department and the Korean government for the meeting.
Earlier, Kang Young-woo, a policy advisor in the National Council on Disability at the U.S. White House, told the Chosun Ilbo by phone that Melissa Bennett, a deputy assistant to the President for appointments, had confirmed that Lee was to meet Bush on either Oct. 15 or 16. Kang had been pushing for the meeting since late August at Lee's request and said he was helped by former U.S. attorney general Richard Thornburgh and U.S. Secretary of Labour Elaine Chao. But the source said the announcement had been ˇ°hasty.ˇ± After the meeting was announced, the Korean government asked the U.S. State Department through diplomatic channels for an explanation.
The State Department apparently also feels it was inappropriate for the White House to set a meeting with the presidential candidate of a Korean opposition party without discussions with it. The U.S. Embassy in Korea expressed regret to Lee through an unofficial channel immediately after the meeting was announced.
Lee himself was more cautious when asked about the agenda for any meeting with Bush, saying at a celebration marking the second anniversary of Cheonggye Stream restoration on Sunday that the meeting had not been finalized and he needed to confirm whether it will really be held since he himself had no word from the White House. But he said he expected to have ˇ°good talksˇ± if he met the U.S. president.
The camp of the Grand National Party candidate denied the meeting would be cancelled or the schedule change. But diplomatic sources in Korea and the U.S. say the White House seems to feel the meeting would be trouble in the face of complaints from both the State Department and Korean government. An informal meeting with the U.S. president can be canceled anytime. Alternatively, the form of the meeting could be changed.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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