ID :
65764
Mon, 06/15/2009 - 08:59
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/65764
The shortlink copeid
S. Korean President Lee heads to Washington for summit with Obama
By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, June 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak left Monday for
Washington where he will hold a bilateral summit with U.S. President Barack Obama
for talks on how to deal with the increasingly belligerent North Korea and
strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance.
Lee's U.S. trip comes after North Korea conducted its second nuclear detonation
test on May 25, prompting a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted last week
that placed heavy economic and diplomatic sanctions on the communist nation.
Pyongyang threatened on Saturday that it will weaponize all its plutonium and
that it has already restarted its plutonium-producing nuclear facility in
Yongbyon. It said the country will also begin an uranium enrichment program to
produce weapons.
"North Korea will certainly top the agenda at the summit between President Lee
and President Obama," an official at Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae
earlier said. He said Lee will also work to secure Washington's written promise
to provide extended nuclear deterrence for Seoul.
"We are also working with the U.S. side to include U.S. commitment to the
provision of a nuclear umbrella to South Korea in the joint statement," the
official said referring to a document expected to be signed at the end of the
summit.
The statement on the "joint vision" for the Korea-U.S. alliance will detail steps
for transforming the largely military alliance into a strategic and
future-oriented relationship that will span across social, political and economic
issues, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
The summit will be held at the White House on Tuesday, to be followed by a joint
press conference and a lunch hosted by the U.S. president.
Lee is scheduled to meet with a number of ranking U.S. officials, including
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, shortly
after his arrival in the U.S. capital later Monday (Washington time).
"The meetings will be an opportunity for President Lee to listen to U.S.
positions on the various issues ahead of his summit with President Obama," Cheong
Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said.
The Lee-Obama meeting, second of its kind following their meeting in April on the
sidelines of the G-20 economic summit in London, will also focus on economic
issues as the leaders will seek joint efforts to fight the global economic and
financial crisis.
The two will also discuss ways to quickly ratify a free trade agreement (FTA)
signed between their countries two years ago, according to Cheong Wa Dae
officials.
Lee will meet with leaders of U.S. Congress during his three-day official working
visit to Washington in an apparent attempt to rally support for the ratification
of the Korea-U.S. FTA.
He is set to give a special lecture at the George Washington University, from
which he will receive a honorary doctorate degree.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, June 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak left Monday for
Washington where he will hold a bilateral summit with U.S. President Barack Obama
for talks on how to deal with the increasingly belligerent North Korea and
strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance.
Lee's U.S. trip comes after North Korea conducted its second nuclear detonation
test on May 25, prompting a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted last week
that placed heavy economic and diplomatic sanctions on the communist nation.
Pyongyang threatened on Saturday that it will weaponize all its plutonium and
that it has already restarted its plutonium-producing nuclear facility in
Yongbyon. It said the country will also begin an uranium enrichment program to
produce weapons.
"North Korea will certainly top the agenda at the summit between President Lee
and President Obama," an official at Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae
earlier said. He said Lee will also work to secure Washington's written promise
to provide extended nuclear deterrence for Seoul.
"We are also working with the U.S. side to include U.S. commitment to the
provision of a nuclear umbrella to South Korea in the joint statement," the
official said referring to a document expected to be signed at the end of the
summit.
The statement on the "joint vision" for the Korea-U.S. alliance will detail steps
for transforming the largely military alliance into a strategic and
future-oriented relationship that will span across social, political and economic
issues, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
The summit will be held at the White House on Tuesday, to be followed by a joint
press conference and a lunch hosted by the U.S. president.
Lee is scheduled to meet with a number of ranking U.S. officials, including
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, shortly
after his arrival in the U.S. capital later Monday (Washington time).
"The meetings will be an opportunity for President Lee to listen to U.S.
positions on the various issues ahead of his summit with President Obama," Cheong
Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said.
The Lee-Obama meeting, second of its kind following their meeting in April on the
sidelines of the G-20 economic summit in London, will also focus on economic
issues as the leaders will seek joint efforts to fight the global economic and
financial crisis.
The two will also discuss ways to quickly ratify a free trade agreement (FTA)
signed between their countries two years ago, according to Cheong Wa Dae
officials.
Lee will meet with leaders of U.S. Congress during his three-day official working
visit to Washington in an apparent attempt to rally support for the ratification
of the Korea-U.S. FTA.
He is set to give a special lecture at the George Washington University, from
which he will receive a honorary doctorate degree.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
