Fred Flitz, the vice president of AFPI, who is interviewing. [Yonhap News] 사진 확대 Fred Flitz, the vice president of AFPI, who is interviewing. [Yonhap News]

Trump’s aide suggested that U.S. President Donald Trump should first meet with Lee Jae Myung and closely cooperate with South Korea before pushing for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Fred Flitz, deputy director of the American Institute for First Policy (AFPI), a conservative think tank, suggested “five things that Trump should do before he meets Kim Jong-un again” in an article in the conservative media American Greatness on the 21st (local time).

Deputy Chief Flyts is a person who served in the White House National Security Adviser’s Office in the first Trump administration and is classified as a group of close aides to President Trump in the foreign and security fields.

He first insisted that President Trump should hold a summit with President Lee before meeting with Chairman Kim. In particular, he suggested, “It is desirable to visit Seoul as much as possible.”

“President Trump’s visit to South Korea will strongly convey his commitment to South Korea-U.S. relations and his determination to resume face-to-face diplomacy with Kim Jong-un,” Flitz said. “The efforts to hold talks with Kim Jong-un will reportedly be carried out this fall.”

President Trump then proposed a plan to speak at the Korean National Assembly as he did during his visit to Korea in 2018. At the time, President Trump emphasized the importance of North Korea’s denuclearization and the South Korea-U.S. alliance in a speech to the National Assembly.

He also suggested that Secretary of State Marco Rubio should be sent to Seoul immediately to strengthen high-level communication between South Korea and the U.S. Deputy Director Flyts argued that Rubio should consult with South Korea to link the U.S.-North Korea summit, which is being pursued this fall, to concrete summit diplomacy.

He also positively evaluated the Lee Jae Myung government’s cooperation with the United States. “The Lee Jae Myung government has shown stronger-than-expected cooperation in trade and security,” he said, citing a 7.5 percent increase in South Korea’s defense budget this year, an additional $1 billion in U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, and large-scale shipbuilding cooperation between South Korea and the U.S.

He also cited South Korea’s first nuclear-powered submarine and prospects for winning large-scale contracts by U.S. companies over civilian nuclear power programs as examples of cooperation between Seoul and Washington.

In particular, Plitz assessed that South Korea, unlike some European allies, did not interfere with U.S. military efforts by publicly criticizing the U.S. policy toward Iran or denying access to key military bases.

He stressed that the U.S. should consult with South Korea on the details of the talks regardless of whether the Trump-Kim Jong-un summit is held separately or promoted in the wake of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China in November.

Regarding the plan to drastically reduce the scale of the annual South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, he said, “If we can bring North Korea to the negotiating table, it is a concession that we can take.” However, he ordered that these measures should also be closely coordinated with South Korea and should not go beyond the scope necessary for negotiations with North Korea.

Deputy Director Flyts also suggested that a special envoy to North Korea should be appointed to take charge of peace negotiations and denuclearization of North Korea. Michael Disombree, assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific, who has extensive experience in the Asia-Pacific region and a clear tendency toward U.S. priority, was mentioned as the right candidate.

It also called for strengthening security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, including trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan. It is necessary to strengthen consultations with Australia, India, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the UK, centering on South Korea and Japan, to respond to threats from China, Russia, and North Korea.