Opposition leader Hong departs for US

The leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party left for the United States on Monday for a visit aimed at calling for Washington to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea to counter the threat from North Korea.

The five-day trip by Hong Joon-pyo, who has made strong calls for bringing nuclear weapons back to the South, includes meetings with senior U.S. government officials, top members of Congress and scholars, as well as speeches and interviews with the press.

"I will be traveling to the U.S. today. While staying in Washington DC until the weekend, I will convey to the U.S. the opinions South Korean people have about the North Korean nuclear issue, to which the population of 50 million remains hostage," Hong said in a Facebook message ahead of his departure.

Hong has said the main point of his trip will be to demand the redeployment of nuclear weapons.

The U.S. withdrew nuclear weapons from South Korea in the early 1990s. But calls for their redeployment have gained traction in South Korea as the North has intensified nuclear and missile threats.

The governments of both South Korea and the U.S. are negative toward the idea.

After his arrival Monday, Hong will visit the Korean War Veterans Memorial to pay his respects to Americans troops killed during the 1950-53 war, before hosting a dinner for former U.S. ambassadors to Seoul and former chiefs of U.S. Forces Korea.

On Tuesday, Hong is scheduled to meet with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI); Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia; Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL); and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).

He will also hold a meeting Tuesday with former U.S. nuclear negotiator Robert Gallucci, who currently serves as head of the U.S.-Korea Institute think tank, and host a meeting with South Koreans living in the U.S.

On Wednesday, Hong is scheduled to hold a breakfast meeting with Joseph Yun, the State Department's special representative for North Korea policy, address the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, hold an interview with Reuters, and meet with Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and other members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

He will hold an interview with the Washington Post on Thursday before having a meeting with Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. He will also hold a news conference at the National Press Club and deliver a speech at Georgetown University on Thursday.

Hong is scheduled to head back home Friday.

Source : Yonhap