Office of the President:"Related to the military conflict between Israel and Iran"

"The US is also in an urgent situation, it is not rude… Find the fastest opportunity to push forward again"

"The Korea-Japan summit has been decided to be held tomorrow afternoon."

(Calgary [Canada] = Yonhap News) Reporters Lim Hyeong-seop and Seol Seung-eun = The Blue House announced on the 16th (local time) that the summit between President Lee Jae-myung and President Donald Trump, which was scheduled to be held in Canada, has been canceled due to President Trump's early return to the country.

National Security Office Director Wi Seong-rak said in a briefing at a local press center in Canada on the same day,"Because President Trump suddenly returned home today, the South Korea-U.S. summit scheduled for tomorrow has become difficult."

The National Security Director said,"Such things do occasionally happen at summits held as part of multilateral meetings," and "It seems likely to be related to the military conflict between Israel and Iran."

The National Security Director said,"The United States contacted us to ask for our understanding when this situation arose."

An official from the Blue House said, “It was not a situation that was rude. It seems that the decision was made in a hurry in the US as well,” and “The president was notified immediately after receiving contact from the US side.”

The official said about when he first heard the news of President Trump's return,"It was around the time when President Lee was attending a local reception," and "The meeting between the (US and) Australian leaders was also scheduled for tomorrow, and President Lee and the Australian leader also had a conversation about the cancellation of both the South Korea-US summit and the US-Australia summit."

The Office of the President stated that since the summit fell through, they will look for the next opportunity to pursue it again and that discussions on this matter are taking place through diplomatic channels.

When asked whether a South Korea-U.S. summit could be held on the occasion of the NATO summit to be held in The Hague, Netherlands on the 24th and 25th, an official at the Blue House responded,"If President Lee goes to the NATO meeting, that could happen."

The official explained that after hearing the report that the president would "re-launch as quickly as possible," he said something along the lines of "Do so."

Regarding the possibility of additional phone calls between the South Korean and U.S. leaders, he said,"There are no such plans at the moment," adding,"They did have a phone call recently, and the situation is so urgent that President Trump is in the middle of the G7 summit and is returning home."

The official also said that during the free time left by the South Korea-U.S. summit, they are seeking to hold meetings with other leaders.

When asked whether the failure of the Korea-U.S. summit would cause any disruption to tariff negotiations, he explained,"Working-level consultations are underway between the two sides, and communication and dialogue are also taking place at the headquarters director level."

He said,"I thought that if the summit had been held this time, the working-level negotiations would have gained more momentum, but since the working-level negotiations are in progress, I expect that if the summit meeting is held again soon, it will be supplemented."

Although the South Korea-U.S. summit was canceled, the Blue House explained that the South Korea-Japan summit will be held the following afternoon.

An official from the Blue House said,"The new government and President Lee's diplomacy will be centered around a solid South Korea-U.S. alliance, developing South Korea-Japan cooperation, and South Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation," adding,"South Korea-Japan relations have subtle issues such as past history, but there is also the task of cooperation toward the future."

He added,"There may be differences of opinion on pending issues between Korea and Japan during the talks tomorrow, but I think we should create an overall constructive and virtuous atmosphere for the talks."

hysup@yna.co.kr