It appears the Japanese government does not want to do President Moon any favors before he leaves office which will likely influence whether he visits the Olympics or not:
President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
President Moon Jae-in has a hard decision to make on whether to visit Japan on the occasion of the Tokyo Olympics as the envisaged trip is drawing a mixed response.
Advocates for the President’s participation in the opening ceremony of the quadrennial sporting event, which kicks off July 23, insist that he needs to go in order to break a deadlock in strained bilateral ties, but those critical of this say he should not travel to Tokyo as Japan is taking a lukewarm attitude toward a summit and not showing much resolve in addressing various disputes between the two countries.
Moon is making a last-ditch effort to normalize Korea’s relations with Japan before his term ends in May 2022, as this could enhance trilateral cooperation with the United States. In that sense, the two neighboring countries have been in talks over Moon’s attendance at the opening ceremony, which would lead to his first summit with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and a discussion about pending bilateral issues, according to the foreign ministry here.
However, Tokyo is seemingly unwilling to commit to a meeting, repeatedly leaking information on the negotiations to the media that deprecates a possible summit. Some media reported that any talks between Moon and Suga may last only 15 minutes due to time constraints.
Moon found #KimJongUn “very honest…very enthusiastic [and] one with strong determination…But…this is the same man who murdered his uncle and half brother in cold blood…For many [NK] watchers, Moon’s steadfast defense of Kim is verging on delusional."https://t.co/CuRy2Ome0z
It is surprising how much of a jolt President Moon got from his summit with President Biden:
President Moon Jae-in’s job approval rating rebounded to above 40 percent for the first time in seven weeks thanks to positive reaction toward his recent summit deal with U.S. President Joe Biden, according to a new poll released Thursday.
In the survey conducted jointly by four polling agencies on 1,008 people over the age of 18 from Monday to Wednesday, Moon’s job approval rating stood at 42 percent.
The real story is not being reported is what President Moon wants from the Biden administration in return for these investments. My guess will be he wants the U.S. to be more flexible on sanctions to jump start his North Korea engagement policy:
This file photo provided by Samsung Electronics Co. on March 30, 2021, shows the company’s chip plant in Austin, Texas. (Yonhap)
The United States is the world’s leading technology and innovation hub, but it is not a leader in the high-tech supply chain, mostly relying on Asian countries for essential items, such as semiconductors and batteries for electric vehicles.
In the face of growing challenges from China, U.S. President Joe Biden wants to revitalize the domestic manufacturing capacity amid the global chip crisis and a looming shortage of batteries, and he is expected to welcome a series of announcements of massive investment plans by Korean companies ahead of and after his summit talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday.
BREAKING: Moon says that he will consider his final 1 year in office the final opportunity to move "towards an irreversible peace," emphasizes that it's time to take action
This is pretty funny that someone filed a complaint against President Moon for violating his own coronavirus prevention measures:
President Moon Jae-in has come under fire for having a dinner with four of his former aides at Cheong Wa Dae, which critics claim was in violation of the nationwide ban on gatherings of five or more people as a measure to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two days after the Moon administration’s latest Cabinet reshuffle, announced April 17, Moon had drinks and dinner with the four former aides to show his appreciation for their work, at his residence within the presidential office compound. The aides were former senior secretary for social policy Yoon Chang-yul, former senior secretary for political affairs Choi Jae-sung, former spokesman Kang Min-seok and former secretary for legal affairs Kim Young-sik.
However, a person later filed a civil complaint on the website run by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, saying Moon’s gathering with the former aides was against the ban on gatherings of five or more people.
You can read more at the link, but the Blue House is saying that the gathering ban only applies to private gatherings and not official gatherings like what are held at the Blue House. Just like in the US, what is with these politicians that can follow the rules they push down on everyone else.
It appeared that when Trump was in office he did not have a good relationship with Moon and his latest remarks validate this:
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump at the InterContinental Barclay hotel during the United Nations General Assembly on Sep. 23, 2019, in New York. AP-Yonhap
Former president Donald Trump on Friday accused his South Korean counterpart of ripping off the United States, while continuing to highlight his supposed friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
“Kim Jong-un of North Korea, who I have gotten to know (and like) under the most trying of circumstances, never respected the current President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in,” Trump said in a statement.
“President Moon was weak as a leader and as a negotiator, except when it came to the continued, long term military ripoff of the USA… We were treated like fools for decades, however, I got them to pay billions of dollars more for the military protection and services we render.”
“The Biden Administration is not even going to ask for the additional billions South Korea agreed to pay us,” Trump added, referring to current President Joe Biden.
It wasn’t all that long ago when the ruling Democratic Party were smug and seemed unbeatable. That is no longer the case:
After his Democratic Party (DP) suffered an election rout, President Moon Jae-in stated Thursday that he takes it as a “reprimand” from the public.
He said he will carry out his duties with a “humble demeanor and heavy sense of responsibility,” according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok.
Moon was quoted as adding that he will concentrate efforts on meeting the people’s “desperate demands,” including overcoming the COVID-19 crisis, revitalizing the economy, stabilizing the people’s livelihoods and the real estate market, and rooting out corruption.
The liberal DP was overwhelmingly defeated by the conservative main opposition People Power Party in the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections the previous day.
