It's been two months since I took office... US Ambassador does not even meet with Chung Dong-young

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Michelle Steele is showing differences with her predecessors by not scheduling a meeting with the Minister of Unification even after two months in office. Observations have been made that this is due to the negative perception on the part of the United States due to the severance of inter-Korean relations and Minister Chung Dong-young's remarks about North Korean nuclear facilities.

According to the Ministry of Unification on the 8th, the meeting schedule between Minister Chung Dong-young and Ambassador Michelle Steel has not been decided as of today.

An official from the Ministry of Unification said, “As far as I know, there have been no specific discussions regarding the schedule for the meeting between the Minister and Ambassador Steele.”

It has been customary for the U.S. Ambassador to Korea to first pay a courtesy visit to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and then visit the foreign affairs and security ministries within two months.

Ambassador Steel paid a courtesy call on Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun in early August and then met with Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-kwan and then-Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-baek. Minister of National Defense Kang Shin-cheol met with Ambassador Steel on the 23rd of last month, the day after his inauguration.

However, even after more than two months since taking office, there has been no coordination of a meeting schedule with Minister Chung, the head of North Korea policy.

Ambassador Steele's actions of 'passing' the Ministry of Unification are different from those of his predecessors.

Ambassador Philip Goldberg, who took office in July 2022, paid a courtesy visit to then-Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se early the following month. It took less than two months to even meet with Minister Kim Young-ho, whom he met relatively late.

Ambassador Harry Harris also paid a courtesy visit to Minister Cho Myung-gyun as soon as he took office in July 2018, and when Ministers Kim Yeon-cheol and Lee In-young also visited the Ministry of Unification within a month of their inauguration.

The long-term severance of inter-Korean relations is cited as the reason why Ambassador Steel did not schedule a visit to the Ministry of Unification. There are no trends in inter-Korean communication and cooperation that the U.S. can monitor.

In particular, there are observations that the United States' negative perception of Minister Jeong was a major factor due to his remarks about 'North Korea's nuclear facilities'.

The United States stopped sharing some information on North Korea on the grounds that Minister Jeong publicly mentioned information on nuclear facilities that had not been officially confirmed by the ROK and U.S. authorities, and has reportedly not yet been restored.