Speculations of a possible Seoul-Washington summit are rising following Cheong Wa Dae’s confirmation of a trilateral South Korea-China-Japan summit next month.

After President Moon Jae-in’s meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on Wednesday, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said that the trilateral summit would be held early next month in Japan. 

The meeting will follow on the heels of President Moon Jae-in’s talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It will be the first gathering of the leaders of the three nations since 2015. The inter-Korean summit is scheduled to be held on the South’s side of the Panmumjeom truce village on April 27.

With North Korea and Moon’s meeting with Kim expected to take center stage at the trilateral meeting, speculations are rising that a Seoul-Washington summit will follow before US President Donald Trump sits down with Kim.

Trump’s meeting with Kim is being arranged, with the two sides’ intelligence officials engaging in back-channel talks. According to reports, the current US-North Korea discussions are aimed at arranging a meeting between Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart, who will hammer out details of the Trump-Kim meeting.

With preparations for multiple summits underway, Seoul is making all-out efforts to maintain close collaboration with the US.

On Wednesday, Seoul’s National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong headed to the US to meet John Bolton, the newly appointed US national security adviser. 

According to a high-level Cheong Wa Dae official, Chung met with officials from the US National Security Council on Wednesday (US time) ahead of his meeting with Bolton, scheduled for Thursday.

The official declined to elaborate on the nature of the meeting, saying only that the two sides will discuss matters related to the inter-Korean and US-North Korea summits.

In a related development, it was revealed Wednesday that South Korea and the US have agreed to hold regular discussions on the two nations’ summits with Kim.

According to a high-level South Korean diplomat, Seoul’s embassy to the US and the US Department of State will hold regular meetings and share intelligence on related matters. In the embassy-State Department meetings, South Korean Ambassador to the US Cho Yoon-je will work with Susan Thornton, acting assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)