Home GRASP GRASP/Japan Tokyo farewells 'trustworthy' Tillerson; Seoul awaits seasoned Pompeo

Tokyo farewells 'trustworthy' Tillerson; Seoul awaits seasoned Pompeo

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Japan’s foreign minister said on Wednesday he personally regretted the departure of “frank, trustworthy” U. S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ahead of a proposed summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump fired Tillerson on Tuesday after a series of public rifts over
Japan’s foreign minister said on Wednesday he personally regretted the departure of “frank, trustworthy” U. S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ahead of a proposed summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump fired Tillerson on Tuesday after a series of public rifts over policy on North Korea and other issues, replacing him with loyalist Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo.
“He (Tillerson) was a frank, trustworthy counterpart and I thought we would deal with the North Korea issue together, so personally, I feel that this situation that has developed is unfortunate,” Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono told reporters in Tokyo.
“For sure, America holds the key, so I want to meet his successor as secretary of state soon and exchange views on North Korea and other matters,” Kono said.
Critics expressed dismay at the decision to swap out top diplomats so soon before the unprecedented potential meeting between Kim and Trump, and worried that Pompeo would encourage Trump to be hawkish on North Korea.
South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha decided to go ahead with a planned trip to Washington to discuss North Korea despite Tillerson’s departure, the ministry said in a text message.

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