Our top story this morning...
South Korea's top security advisor Chung Eui-yong, who is in Washington on an *unannounced visit,... has sat down at the White House with President Trump's newly appointed National Security Advisor John Bolton.
The flurry of diplomacy comes ahead of the allies' respective summits with North Korea.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
With the inter-Korean summit now just over two weeks away,... and the historic U.S.-North Korea summit slated for some time in May or early June,... South Korea's top national security adviser Chung Eui-yong made a surprise visit to Washington on Wednesday to meet with his U.S. counterpart, John Bolton.
The meeting was Chung's first with Bolton since the U.S. National Security Adviser took office,... and his second visit in the past month,... as he traveled to Washington last month,... shortly after his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.
According to an unnamed source,... Seoul expressed its desire to arrange a meeting after Bolton took office,... and to establish a direct communication channel between the two to coordinate preparations for their respective summits.
While Seoul remains strongly against any armed conflict on the peninsula,... President Trump's appointment of Bolton -- a well-known hawk -- has raised concerns that the U.S. could consider military action against the North if the summit goes badly.
Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the UN, recently argued for a preventive strike on North Korea,... even though he stresses that it's not his favored option.
Meanwhile, Cho Yoon-je, the South Korean ambassador to the U.S.,... and Susan Thornton, acting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia plan to hold regular summit-related meetings from next week.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.