House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 24-hour visit to Taiwan — and China’s furious and ongoing reaction — are making for some delicate diplomacy as the California Democrat concludes her Asian tour with stops in South Korea and Japan.
Speculation in Seoul was running high after President Yoon Suk-yeol declined to interrupt his summer vacation to meet in person with Mrs. Pelosi and her delegation of House Democrats. South Korean officials said Mr. Yoon’s work break had been scheduled well in advance and that the president did speak with Mrs. Pelosi by phone during her stop.
The Korea Times noted there was widespread talk in Seoul that the president nixed a face-to-face meeting because he was wary of further inciting China, which is the country’s biggest trading partner as well as the only major ally of North Korea.