Reports have emerged that the Donald Trump administration places North Korean denuclearization among its highest policy priorities. Pictured are President Trump (right) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their 2018 summit in Singapore. [Reuters]
Reports have emerged that the Donald Trump administration places North Korean denuclearization among its highest policy priorities. Pictured are President Trump (right) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their 2018 summit in Singapore. [Reuters]

A close ally of Donald Trump has urged the US president to hold a summit with President Lee Jae Myung before meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and to work closely with Seoul throughout any push for a US-North Korea summit.

Fred Fleitz, vice president of the America First Policy Institute, said in a piece published Friday in the conservative outlet American Greatness that Trump "should meet with President Lee before meeting Kim Jong-un, and should visit Seoul if at all possible."

Fleitz served as chief of staff to the White House national security adviser during Trump's first term and is considered a close adviser to the president on foreign policy and security matters.

He said a visit by Trump to South Korea would "send a powerful signal of commitment to the US-South Korea alliance and resolve to resume face-to-face diplomacy with Kim Jong-un." Noting that a US-North Korea summit is reportedly being pursued this fall, Fleitz also proposed that Trump address the National Assembly, as he did in 2018.

Fleitz called for Secretary of State Marco Rubio to be sent to Seoul promptly to begin preparations for a US-North Korea summit. He praised the Lee Jae Myung administration for showing "stronger-than-expected cooperation on trade and security," citing South Korea's 7.5 percent increase in its defense budget this year, an additional $1 billion in support for USFK, and cooperation on shipbuilding.

He said Rubio should work with South Korea to finalize the details of a Trump-Kim meeting. Whether the summit is held separately or on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China in November, prior coordination with Seoul would be necessary, Fleitz said.

On Trump's recent order to significantly scale back the annual US-South Korea joint military exercises, Fleitz said the cost was "minimal if it can bring Kim Jong-un to the table." He added, however, that the reduction should be closely coordinated with South Korea to ensure it does not go beyond what is needed to draw the North into negotiations.

Fleitz also proposed appointing a special envoy dedicated to North Korea. "A dedicated envoy is needed to facilitate peace talks and advance North Korean denuclearization," he said, recommending Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Michael DeSombre as the right person for the role.

He also called for expanding US-South Korea-Japan security cooperation. Describing South Korea as a key US security ally in countering threats from China, Russia and North Korea, Fleitz said trilateral cooperation among the three countries should be strengthened, while consultations with Australia, India, the Philippines, Taiwan and the United Kingdom should also be expanded.

Fleitz urged the administration to move quickly on follow-up measures from US-South Korea trade and energy agreements. He pointed particularly to bureaucratic inertia within the US government and a lack of urgency in Congress as factors behind delays in expanding South Korea's rights to civilian uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing.

He proposed that Trump direct US government officials to remove the remaining obstacles to the trade and energy agreements and dispatch them to South Korea to advance the process.


sjy@heraldcorp.com