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

(ATTN: UPDATES with more reports of the summit, additional information)
By Byun Duk-kun

L'AQUILA, Italy, July 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak sought
to win Italy's support for a 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," Seoul's presidential office,
Cheong Wa Dae, said in a press release.
"Basically, I agree with President Lee's thoughts on free trade. I admit the
Korea-EU FTA is needed for the economic development of the two countries," the
Italian prime minister was quoted as saying by Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim
Eun-hye.
In a related development, the Article 133 Committee of the European Commission
approved a final draft of the Korea-EU FTA in Brussels Friday, which effectively
ended negotiations for the proposed deal.
Kim Jong-hoon, South Korea's trade minister currently accompanying Lee, said the
development signaled significant progress but that the sides still need more time
before they can actually ink the trade agreement.
"There was wide support for what has been agreed between Korean and EU
negotiators. However, there were several countries that said they need some more
time to conclude their domestic processes" of finally endorsing the proposed
deal, Kim told reporters here.
The Article 133 Committee, created under EU Treaty's article of the same number,
advises and makes proposals on international trade agreements to the European
Commission, the executive body of the EU.
Poland is said to have withdrawn its early opposition to the proposed deal, with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.
The South Korean president will arrive in Sweden Saturday for talks with Prime
Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who is in the six-month rotating presidency of the
European Union since the beginning of the month.
Turning to bilateral issues, Lee and the Italian prime minister agreed to further
strengthen the cooperative ties between their countries while 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 ambitions, 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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