SEOUL– A senior U.S. diplomat is coordinating a schedule to arrange talks with the presidential candidates of two major South Korean political parties during his visit to Seoul this week, sources said Sunday.
Daniel Kritenbrink, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, is seeking to have separate talks with Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party, and Yoon Seok-youl of the main opposition People Power Party during his planned trip here from Wednesday to Friday, the sources said
Kritenbrink is on his first Asia trip since taking office in September. He will fly to South Korea on Wednesday after a four-day trip to Japan.
Should the talks with Lee and Yoon take place, Kritenbrink could use them to build ties with prominent politicians ahead of the March 9 presidential election.
Just months before the 2017 presidential vote, Joseph Yun, then U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, also visited Seoul and held back-to-back talks with then presidential hopefuls in addition to ones with Seoul diplomats.
In Seoul, Kritenbrink is expected to meet with his South Korean counterpart, Yeo Seung-bae, deputy foreign minister for political affairs, and other senior officials to discuss North Korea and other regional issues.
His visit comes as Seoul and Washington are in brisk talks to bring Pyongyang back to denuclearization talks, which remain stalled since a 2019 Hanoi summit between the U.S. and North Korea ended without a deal.
Source: Yonhap News Agency