After US President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with former President Moon Jae-in during his visit to South Korea, it was reported that the US offered a phone call first.
Former 1st Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-gun, who was present on the call at the time, revealed the background of the call on KBS Radio ‘Jin-Woo Joo Live’ on the 23rd.
Former Vice Minister Choi said, “It is the first time in our diplomatic history that the US president visited Korea and asked for some kind of communication with the previous president. It seems like it will be following the resignation of the president,’ and President Biden sent a message saying, ‘I want to meet President Moon once.'”
He continued, “We expressed our gratitude and there was no reason why we mightn’t meet, so we accepted that it would be good for the two of you to meet in the spare time when detailed schedules such as a summit with the Yun Seok-yeol administration were set.”
Former Vice Minister Choi said, “I was waiting, but the schedule for my visit to Korea was so tight, so we adjusted the schedule several times and then the meeting didn’t happen.”
“It’s unfortunate that we announced that the meeting had not happened, but President Biden wanted to talk on the phone, so I got a phone call on Friday. So, we set the schedule for Saturday and proceeded.”
Former President Moon Jae-in has a phone call with US President Joe Biden on the 21st. According to former President Moon Jae-in, the call lasted regarding 10 minutes. Provided by former President Moon on May 21, 2022 Former Vice Minister Choi said, “In a calm atmosphere, the two exchanged greetings. Ex-President Moon said it was a bit disappointing that he was not able to say his resignation during his tenure, but he said to President Biden that he was grateful to be able to speak on the phone like this. We talked to each other,” he said.
“President Biden remembered precisely his summit meeting with former President Moon at the White House in Washington on May 21, last year,” he said.
He said that President Biden called the summit with former President Moon the ‘single best summit’, and said, “Especially for President Biden, it was said to be the first summit event held at the White House during the coronavirus period. So he personally remembered him (President Biden) and said some of those words.”
Former Deputy Minister Choi also reported that the call was conducted through speakerphone. He said, “When I was in office, I plugged in earphones, but the facilities at my private residence have not yet made it to the point of making such a call. He also said that since he is his brother-in-law, he did not already have diplomatic activities in mind following he retired, so he just did it with a speakerphone.”
Reporter Lee Hye-won, Donga.com hyewon@donga.com
