Pompeo cancels his Korea visit after Trump tests positive to COVID-19

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has cancelled his visit to South Korea planned on early this month after President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19. This is likely to put a damper on the South Korean government’s scheme to trigger “October surprise” such as a surprise summit between the U.S. and the North before the U.S. presidential election on November 3 by sending Pyongyang a message declaring the end of war during Pompeo’s visit.

The U.S. State Department said on Saturday (local time) Pompeo would attend a Quad meeting with ministers of diplomacy, which focuses on urgent issues in the Indo-Pacific region, when he visits Tokyo, Japan from Sunday to Tuesday. Washington said Pompeo would visit Asia again this month and the schedule would be pushed back by a few weeks. His original plan was to visit Japan from Sunday to Tuesday, Mongolia on Wednesday and South Korea from Thursday to Friday, but his visit to Mongolia and South Korea has been delayed. The South Korean Foreign Affairs Ministry said it hopes Pompeo would visit South Korea soon. The Quad is a discussion body between the U.S., Japan, Australia and India, which was founded with a purpose to keep China in check.


Ji-Sun Choi aurinko@donga.com · Wan-Jun Yun zeitung@donga.com