S. Korean president seeks Italy's support for Korea-EU FTA in summit

By Byun Duk-kun
L'AQUILA, Italy, July 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak sought
to win Italy's support for an envisioned free trade deal between his country and
the European Union in a summit with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi here
Friday.

The move is part of last-minute efforts by Seoul to conclude the free trade
agreement (FTA) while three EU nations -- Italy, Poland and Hungary -- were
believed to be holding back their full support for the accord.
Berlusconi agreed to work with the South Korean leader to help "upgrade the
Korea-EU relationship to a strategic partnership by concluding the Korea-EU FTA
at an early date as agreed in the Korea-EU summit held in Seoul on May 23,"
Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.
The agreement could mean the sides are now only a step away from signing the deal
which, once signed, is expected to generate billions of dollars in increased
trade for both sides.
Poland is said to have withdrawn its early opposition to the proposed deal, with
President Lech Kaczynski saying in a joint press conference with Lee after their
summit Wednesday that the FTA will help improve the relationship between his
country and South Korea.
Lee and the Italian prime minister agreed to improve their countries' bilateral
ties, noting their relationship has steadily expanded to economic, political and
cultural areas since first established in 1884, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
"The two heads of state agreed to strengthen the cooperation between their
countries in dealing with global issues, such as the worldwide financial crisis
and climate change," it said in the press release.
They also agreed to work together for an early resumption of six-nation talks on
ending North Korea's nuclear ambition, noting its possession of nuclear weapons
will not be accepted.
Pyongyang declared it was abandoning the nuclear disarmament talks in protest
over U.N. condemnation of its rocket launch in April. The talks involve the two
Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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