President Park Geun-hye will leave for Washington this weekend as scheduled for talks with her U.S counterpart, Barack Obama, despite the spreading MERS virus that has killed seven people, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.
The two leaders are scheduled to hold summit talks June 16 to exchange views on a broad range of security, economic and global issues, including the South Korea-U.S. alliance.
The trip comes as North Korea is apparently making progress in its nuclear and missile programs. The North has recently launched a ballistic missile from a submarine and claimed that it has mastered the technology to make nuclear warheads small enough to mount on missiles.
“I have nothing to say” over any possible change in Park’s visit to the U.S., presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters.
His comments came after some lawmakers pressed Park to delay the trip, saying the president should take the lead in containing the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus that has killed seven South Koreans.
On Monday, Park gave full authority to a task force, mostly composed of medical experts, in coping with the MERS virus. The move came three days after she visited the National Medical Center, a state-designated hospital for infected patients, in downtown Seoul.
Rep. Park Jie-won, a former floor leader of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, said it is desirable for the president to either delay or cancel the trip at a time when the people are concerned about the virus due to a government blunder.
The government has belatedly revealed the list of 24 hospitals affected by MERS after being under fire for its poor initial response to the outbreak of the virus.
Lee Jong-kul, the current floor leader of the opposition party, said Park should go ahead with her trip as scheduled, noting relations with the U.S., the key ally of South Korea, is very important.
Kim Moo-sung, head of the ruling Saenuri Party, said any rescheduling is something that Park has to decide. (Yonhap)
