DP lawmaker-US visa

By Chang Dong-woo

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. State Department said Thursday that President Donald Trump's administration puts American interests first in enforcing immigration laws amid a claim by a South Korean lawmaker that he was refused a visa ahead of a planned visit to a U.S. military command in Hawaii.

Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) said Wednesday his U.S. visa application for a trip to the U.S. Pacific Command had been rejected. He shared on Facebook what appeared to be a document that showed his application was refused.

Jin serves as chairman of the defense committee of South Korea's National Assembly.

"The Trump Administration continues to put America and its interests first by fully enforcing U.S. immigration laws and ensuring lawful travel through our visa process," a State Department spokesman told Yonhap News Agency in a written response to the lawmaker's claim.

"The Department of State adjudicates each visa application on a case-by-case basis," the spokesman said. "As a general matter, we do not comment on Department actions with respect to specific visa cases."

Jin said he and his parliamentary delegation had meetings scheduled with key figures, including U.S. Pacific Commander Adm. Samuel Paparo, adding the rejection is difficult to understand, given that he had visited the U.S. command in 2014 as a member of the parliamentary committee.

The exact reason for the reported visa denial remains unclear, but some observers note that Jin's past conviction for violating South Korea's National Security Act may have been a factor. He was sentenced to three years in prison and a three-year suspension of qualifications in 1991 for violating the law.

Jin plans to submit English translations of court rulings after U.S. authorities requested the documents concerning his past conviction.

The foreign ministry said it is consulting with the U.S. side on the matter and that Jin's application process appears to be still under way, although noting that it cannot verify the details of individual visa applications.

The apparent visa denial follows a similar case involving Rep. Jung Chung-rae, former chairman of the DP earlier this month.

Jung had initially planned to join the audit team of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee on its U.S. trip earlier this month but was forced to switch to the Europe audit team as his visa application had remained pending ahead of his planned departure.

The repeated visa issue came amid concerns about apparent friction between South Korea and the United States over intelligence cooperation after Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's public disclosure of a North Korean uranium enrichment facility in Kusong, North Korea, in March.

The U.S. has reportedly complained about Chung's disclosure of the information, which it believes was based on intelligence shared by Washington.

Meanwhile, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said he plans to ask the U.S. to expedite visa issuance for South Korean lawmakers amid delays affecting their planned visits.

"Although this has nothing to do with South Korea-U.S. relations, it is an undesirable situation, so I intend to ask the U.S. side to ensure that visas are issued promptly to our lawmakers," Cho told reporters before departing for Atlanta to attend a Group of 20 foreign ministers' meeting.

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