[Anchor]

Jin Sung-joon, chairman of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee from the Democratic Party, whose US visa had previously been denied, was finally granted a visa today (October 31), just a day before his scheduled trip. Although the issue was resolved after twists and turns—even prompting Foreign Minister Cho Hyun to intervene—differing perspectives over policy toward China and North Korea were laid bare at the South Korea-US-Japan foreign ministers' meeting.

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin reports.

[Reporter]

A National Assembly Defense Committee delegation was scheduled to visit the US Pacific Command in Hawaii starting tomorrow.

Three days after the US side refused to issue an official visa to Defense Committee Chairman Jin Sung-joon, a Democratic Party lawmaker, the visa was issued today, just one day prior to his departure.

Chairman Jin stated on social media, "I am relieved that it was issued, even if belatedly," adding, "I will thoroughly discuss ways to advance South Korea-US security cooperation."

At the request of the US side, Chairman Jin had even submitted a court ruling related to his 1991 conviction under the National Security Act.

The People Power Party criticized the incident as a diplomatic disgrace that revealed cracks in the South Korea-US alliance despite the eventual visa issuance. In response, the Democratic Party countered that blaming their own lawmaker before questioning the US is an act of subservience.

Regarding the recent US visa issuance issues involving ruling party lawmakers such as Representative Jeong Cheong-rae and Chairman Jin, the South Korean government stated that the situation is unrelated to any "turbulence" in bilateral relations, attributing it instead to the Trump administration's tightened visa policies.

[Cho Hyun / Minister of Foreign Affairs (October 27): I am scheduled to meet with Secretary Rubio when I visit the United States the day after tomorrow, so I will raise the issue then as well.]

While the foreign minister's intervention put out the immediate fire regarding the visa issue, differences in perspective concerning policies toward China and North Korea were exposed during the trilateral foreign ministers' meeting among South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

In its press release, the US Department of State emphasized deterrence against China by explicitly mentioning "coercive activities in the West Sea" for the first time, but this point was absent from the statements released by South Korea's Foreign Ministry and Japan.

On the North Korean nuclear issue, the US and Japan called for the "complete denuclearization of North Korea," whereas South Korea used the phrase "peace, stability, and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula." Some observers interpret this as the South Korean government avoiding a direct mention of "North Korea" in an effort to ease tensions and foster an atmosphere for dialogue.

(Video by Lee Seung-hwan | Video Editing by Lee Seung-jin | Graphics by Park Cheon-woong)