Sean O'Neill, a senior bureau official at the U.S. Department of State, is set to embark on a tour of Asia from the 16th to the 25th, but South Korea has been excluded from the list of countries to be visited.
According to the U.S. Department of State on the 15th (local time), Senior Bureau Official Sean O'Neill will visit Vietnam, Cambodia, and Japan beginning on the 16th.
O'Neill will discuss areas of mutual interest that serve as the foundation for the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries with Vietnamese officials in Ho Chi Minh City, before participating in the 37th U.S.-ASEAN Dialogue in Cambodia.
He plans to visit Japan afterward and exchange opinions with Japanese officials on priorities to strengthen the alliance and economic partnership between the two countries.
This has raised concerns that South Korea has been repeatedly overlooked since the leadership vacuum following the 12·3 state of emergency and the inauguration of the Donald Trump administration.
Earlier, in March, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hagel also embarked on his first tour of Asia, but only visited Japan and the Philippines, skipping South Korea.