Tag: Ivanka Trump

This article from CNN sounds like another attempt to create tension between President Trump and John Kelly.  It is pretty clear that there are people in the White House that do not like the order Kelly has brought and accusing him of taking shots at Ivanka Trump could be attempt to get the President to remove him:

The decision to send her to South Korea did not sit well with some senior officials in the West Wing, two people familiar with the situation told CNN. The nuclear threat from North Korea and the tensions already boiling across the Korean Peninsula made any US delegation far more than ceremonial.

Kelly was not initially enthusiastic about her South Korea trip, a person close to President Donald Trump said, largely because the visit to the Korean Peninsula was far more than a typical Olympic closing ceremony.

“This isn’t like going to Italy. The stakes are far higher and more complex,” a person close to the President said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive subject of the Trump family.

The concerns of Kelly and others about Ms. Trump — who has little experience in government or diplomacy, and hasn’t played a role in discussions about North Korea — were aired in private, according to people familiar with the matter. Kelly was advised by those closest to him that it would be a losing battle to oppose Ivanka as the delegation’s leader.  [CNN]

Ivanka’s nickname in South Korea = “방카” or “Bang-ka.” In full, her name is “I-bang-ka” but because “I” is a Korean surname, they just call her “Bang-ka.” pic.twitter.com/w3KibdzeYP

— Anna Fifield (@annafifield) February 24, 2018

This photo, taken on Feb. 23, 2018, shows a pair of traditional Korean indoor shoes, made of silk, that South Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook prepared for Ivanka Trump, the U.S. president’s daughter and senior advisor, the day that Ivanka visited the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae for a dinner with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Kim gave Ivanka the shoes as a present on Feb. 24 because she liked them, according to the presidential office. (Yonhap)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in (L) and Ivanka Trump, the U.S. president’s daughter and senior advisor, walk out of a dinner reception at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Feb. 23, 2018. Ivanka Trump arrived in South Korea earlier in the day for a four-day stay to lead a U.S. delegation to the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, which is scheduled for Feb. 25. (Yonhap)

As I expected Ivanka Trump continued to communicate the US’s position of maximum pressure on North Korea to President Moon:

Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, reiterated a maximum pressure campaign against North Korea, in a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Friday.

She said Washington and Seoul “reaffirmed commitment to a maximum pressure campaign to ensure that the Korean Peninsula is denuclearized,” ahead of a dinner hosted by Moon at Cheong Wa Dae.

“We continue to reaffirm our joint values and strategic cooperation as partners and allies,” she said.

Ivanka leads the U.S. delegation which arrived in Seoul earlier in the day, to attend the Games’ closing ceremony on Sunday. The delegation includes Senator James Risch, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Allison Hooker, a National Security Council (NSC) official specializing in Korean affairs.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but the article also says she is not expected to meet with the North Korean delegation either.  Outside of the North Korean delegation suddenly saying they are open to denuclearization and ending their ICBM program I don’t see why the US delegation should meet with them?

I guess we will see what happens, but I don’t expect Ivanka Trump will stray from the White House’s current maximum pressure position in regards to North Korea if they do meet:

The chances of Washington-Pyongyang talks over the latter’s nuclear program seem to be growing, with high-level officials from the two countries coming to South Korea for the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

Attention to any possible contact is high, especially after it belatedly became known the two sides had planned a meeting when U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-jong participated in the opening ceremony.

Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Unification said Thursday Kim Yong-chol, head of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s United Front Department, would visit the South from Sunday to Tuesday, along with seven other delegates including Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.

They will attend the closing ceremony that will take place on Sunday. Cheong Wa Dae said the rest of their itinerary has not been confirmed, although it is expected they will have a separate meeting with President Moon Jae-in at Cheong Wa Dae.

The high-profile North Korean delegation’s visit was announced hours after the White House and Cheong Wa Dae confirmed Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, would make a four-day visit here from Friday to Monday.

She is scheduled to have talks with Moon over dinner at the presidential office on the first day of her visit. Ivanka Trump will also have a separate event with first lady Kim Jung-sook, as well as attending the closing ceremony.

As the periods of the two delegations’ stays overlap, expectations are growing over a possible meeting.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but I am willing to bet the Moon administration intentionally created this scheduling overlap in an effort to try and get a meeting to happen.

The ROK government intends to give Ivanka Trump the same red carpet treatment that gave Kim Yo-jong in hopes of apparently convincing President Trump to go along with President Moon attending an Inter-Korean Summit in Pyongyang:

The government is preparing a VIP welcome for U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who comes to Korea for the closing ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics on Feb. 25. The government apparently wants to soften her up so Trump agrees to a mooted visit to Pyongyang by President Moon Jae-in.

One key ruling-party lawmaker said, “You can say that Ivanka Trump holds the key to convincing the U.S. government. We will provide all the support we can in terms of diplomatic protocol.”

Trump runs the White House like a private fiefdom and has levered both Ivanka and her husband Jarred Kushner into ill-defined foreign-policy roles.

Technically, Seoul has no diplomatic obligation to roll out the red carpet for the child of a U.S. leader, and even the head of a U.S. presidential delegation does not receive the treatment given to a head of state.

But a government official here said, “We are considering exceptional measures by having a high-ranking official greet Ivanka and accompany her during her visit.” The Cheong Wae Dae security team rather than the police handle her safety during her visit.  (…….)

“Since President Trump cannot make it to Pyeongchang, Ivanka is his proxy and envoy,” a ruling-party official said. “It’s important to win her support to realize the inter-Korean summit.”   [Chosun Ilbo]

I also find it interesting that the Chosun Ilbo took a shot at Melania Trump:

First lady Kim Jung-sook may also show Ivanka around, on the assumption that she is to all intents and purposes the first lady of the U.S. rather than Trump’s reluctant wife Melania.

You can read more at the link, but wouldn’t it be awesome of Ivanka Trump showed up and said that the Trump administration supports an Inter-Korean Summit if it is held in Seoul?

Many Japanese people think she’s like a princess: “She’s well educated, beautiful, sophisticated and rich.“ https://t.co/nrvkzPCLxH

— Anna Fifield (@annafifield) November 2, 2017

Maybe not:

This is what the hall in Tokyo looked like as Ivanka Trump gave her speech at a Japanese government women’s conference pic.twitter.com/7IzXMpxa6b

— Anna Fifield (@annafifield) November 3, 2017