ID :
46530
Thu, 02/19/2009 - 21:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/46530
The shortlink copeid
Clinton arrives in Seoul amid heightened tensions
+
SEOUL, Feb. 19 Kyodo -
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Seoul on Thursday night amid
heightened tensions caused by North Korea's aggressive comments.
Clinton arrived in a military airport on the outskirts of Seoul on her third
stop after Tokyo and Jakarta on her first overseas four-nation trip, which will
also take her to Beijing on Friday.
Clinton's itinerary on Friday includes talks with Foreign Affairs and Trade
Minister Yu Myung Hwan, a luncheon meeting with President Lee Myung Bak and a
meeting with Prime Minister Han Seung Soo.
One day ahead of her arrival in Seoul, a spokesman for the North Korean army's
chief of staff issued a statement threatening South Korea with ''an all-out
confrontation.''
''The Lee Myung Bak group of traitors should never forget that the Korean
People's Army is fully ready for an all-out confrontation,'' the North Korean
spokesman was quoted in a report by the North's Korean Central News Agency,
monitored by Yonhap News Agency.
The warning is the second of its kind in about a month since a similar
statement was issued on Jan. 17.
Relations between the two Koreas have deteriorated since conservative President
Lee Myung Bak took office in February last year.
Clinton's visit to Seoul comes at a time when a watchful eye is placed on
whether the North will test-fire a long-range ballistic missile as reports
indicate.
North Korea denied reports about a missile launch earlier this week, but stated
it has a right to pursue ''peaceful space activity,'' a term Pyongyang used in
1998 when it fired a missile that flew over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean.
As for issues to be covered, Yu and Clinton are expected to discuss a broad
range of issues, including the future of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, stalled
six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, North Korea's recent
reported moves to launch a long-range missile.
The six-way talks, involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan
and Russia, remain stalled due to differences over ways to verify Pyongyang's
nuclear information.
''Since these are the first talks between Yu and Clinton, they will freely
exchange their views with no official agenda tabled,'' an unidentified South
Korean government official told the Korea Times.
Media reports said Yu and Clinton will discuss the issue of South Korea's
supporting U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, the yet-to-be ratified free trade
agreement between the two countries and other global issues like climate
change.
Clinton is scheduled to visit the joint South Korea-U.S. military command in
Seoul on Friday, during which she will meet with top U.S. military commanders.
She is also to visit a Seoul women's university to attend a women leaders'
forum, and is scheduled to hold a meeting with a number of female lawmakers.
==Kyodo
2009-02-19 22:51:42
SEOUL, Feb. 19 Kyodo -
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Seoul on Thursday night amid
heightened tensions caused by North Korea's aggressive comments.
Clinton arrived in a military airport on the outskirts of Seoul on her third
stop after Tokyo and Jakarta on her first overseas four-nation trip, which will
also take her to Beijing on Friday.
Clinton's itinerary on Friday includes talks with Foreign Affairs and Trade
Minister Yu Myung Hwan, a luncheon meeting with President Lee Myung Bak and a
meeting with Prime Minister Han Seung Soo.
One day ahead of her arrival in Seoul, a spokesman for the North Korean army's
chief of staff issued a statement threatening South Korea with ''an all-out
confrontation.''
''The Lee Myung Bak group of traitors should never forget that the Korean
People's Army is fully ready for an all-out confrontation,'' the North Korean
spokesman was quoted in a report by the North's Korean Central News Agency,
monitored by Yonhap News Agency.
The warning is the second of its kind in about a month since a similar
statement was issued on Jan. 17.
Relations between the two Koreas have deteriorated since conservative President
Lee Myung Bak took office in February last year.
Clinton's visit to Seoul comes at a time when a watchful eye is placed on
whether the North will test-fire a long-range ballistic missile as reports
indicate.
North Korea denied reports about a missile launch earlier this week, but stated
it has a right to pursue ''peaceful space activity,'' a term Pyongyang used in
1998 when it fired a missile that flew over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean.
As for issues to be covered, Yu and Clinton are expected to discuss a broad
range of issues, including the future of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, stalled
six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, North Korea's recent
reported moves to launch a long-range missile.
The six-way talks, involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan
and Russia, remain stalled due to differences over ways to verify Pyongyang's
nuclear information.
''Since these are the first talks between Yu and Clinton, they will freely
exchange their views with no official agenda tabled,'' an unidentified South
Korean government official told the Korea Times.
Media reports said Yu and Clinton will discuss the issue of South Korea's
supporting U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, the yet-to-be ratified free trade
agreement between the two countries and other global issues like climate
change.
Clinton is scheduled to visit the joint South Korea-U.S. military command in
Seoul on Friday, during which she will meet with top U.S. military commanders.
She is also to visit a Seoul women's university to attend a women leaders'
forum, and is scheduled to hold a meeting with a number of female lawmakers.
==Kyodo
2009-02-19 22:51:42
