US denial of Biden-Moon meeting triggers speculation

Washington has denied local media reports that U.S. President Joe Biden will meet former President Moon Jaein during the U.S. leader’s visit to Seoul for a summit with President Yoon Sukyeol. Biden will arrive in South Korea on Friday for a three-day visit.

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a press briefing on Wednesday (local time), “We don’t have a meeting scheduled with President Moon at this time.”

The U.S.’ denial of the Biden-Moon meeting came weeks after a then Cheong Wa Dae official confirmed on April 28 the U.S. request for the rare meeting. At that time, Moon was still in office. May 9th was his last day in the presidency.

The Cheong Wa Dae official said Seoul and Washington were preparing for the Biden-Moon meeting to be held on May 22, upon the request of the

U.S. “He (Biden) maybe wants to meet his friend during his visit to Korea,” the official said, noting that consultations between the two sides had been underway to set the exact time and venue.

On Thursday, the former president confirmed that the Biden-Moon meeting won’t be held.

In a media interview, an unnamed aide of Moon said the former president was contacted by a person working for President Biden on Thursday, a day before Biden’s scheduled arrival in South Korea, and heard that the U.S. president ultimately wouldn’t be able to meet Moon during his Seoul visit. “They didn’t explain to us why, and we didn’t ask them why, either, because we didn’t think they should have to do that,” the aide said, adding that the Moon side had until recently been arranging a meeting between the two after the U.S. side proposed one based on President Biden’s hope to meet President Moon personally and informally.