Seoul, Washington discuss alliance, N. Korea ahead of summit

By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, June 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and his U.S.
counterpart, Barack Obama, will agree on steps that will take the alliance to the
next stage -- a comprehensive, strategic partnership, U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton noted Monday in a meeting with the visiting South Korean head of
state.

The steps will be outlined in a joint statement to be issued at the end of the
summit between Lee and Obama Tuesday.
"President Lee noted the statement, to be signed at the end of the summit, will
be evidence of strong will by the two countries to develop the South Korea-U.S.
alliance into a more comprehensive partnership," Lee Dong-kwan, a spokesman for
the South Korean presidential office, said of the Lee-Clinton meeting.
The South Korean president arrived here earlier Monday for a three-day official
visit.
The so-called "Joint Vision for an Alliance between the Republic of Korea and the
United States of America" aims to transform the military alliance into a
strategic partnership that will also enable close cooperation in all other
sectors of life, including social, economic and political, according to South
Korean officials accompanying their president.
Clinton reaffirmed the United States' commitment to the joint defense of South
Korea while expressing hope the expansion of cooperation between the countries
will further contribute to peace and stability in Northeast Asia and the world,
spokesman Lee said in a press release.
Lee and the U.S. secretary of state also called for continued international
efforts to denuclearize North Korea while agreeing to increase their cooperation
with China, Russia and Japan in a six-nation dialogue framework that also
includes the communist North.
Pyongyang detonated a nuclear device on May 25 in its second underground nuclear
explosion test. The North conducted its first nuclear test in October 2006.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)