Assistant Secretary Kurt M. Campbell for East Asia and the Pacific today announced tha tPresident Obama will be joining the East Asia Summit on behalf of the United States for the first time.
“I’m on a trip throughout Asia for several things. First of all, to brief our allies and friends about the discussions that took place in Geneva between the US and North Korea. We’re obviously deeply involved in preparations for the East Asia Summit.” -Mr. Campbell
He stated that the United States of America will be hosting APEC in Hawaii, in Honolulu next month. He said there is an enormous amount of preparatory work that needs to take place.
“I should say that we began our discussion this morning with some small degree of deep personal satisfaction. We were both very pleased with how the summit between our two leaders was conducted in Washington. I think it was an extraordinary achievement. It’s a celebration of our close alliance.” -Mr. Campbell
He stated that one of the things that both the United States and South Korea agreed was that they cannot rest on their laurels.
“In the discussion about the talks that took place between the United States and North Korea in Geneva, we compared notes. I fully debriefed Deputy Minister Kim on all aspects of our discussions. This is one of several discussions that have taken place.” -Mr. Campbell
Mr. Campbell said the United States and South Korea are fully aligned on our approach to several critical issues like the East Asia Summit.
