FM Heads for Washington Tuesday
2003-09-02
Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yoon Young-kwan will leave for Washington on Tuesday (Sept. 2) to consult U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell about the future course of action in dealing with North Korea's nuclear program, ministry officials said.
The two will exchange views on the outcome of the first round of six-way talks held in Beijing last week, they said.
Their meeting is the first high-level consultation between the two allies, following Pyongyang's expression of defiance in Beijing. In its departure meeting, the North Korean delegation said that the meeting was useless, later adding that it was harmful in every aspect.
Seoul worries that this strong rhetoric may help U.S. hardliners take a confrontational approach against Pyongyang. According to ministry officials, Yoon is expected to try and reassure the U.S. side that it is important to keep the current policy of dialogue.
In relation, the ministry explained to the National Assembly yesterday that the U.S. expressed its intention to establish friendly ties with any country, which is interpreted as a way of expressing its intention not to attack the North. Pyongyang wants a formal treaty guaranteeing Washington will not invade the Stalinist country.
Yoon will meet National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on Thursday and Deputy Secretary of State Paul Wolfowitz on Friday.
A meeting with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, leader of hawks in the U.S. administration against Pyongyang, is not planned as the U.S. official will be out of town during Yoon's stay in Washington, the ministry said.
Yoon is also planning to meet Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Richard Lugar and Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the House International Relations Committee.
Source : www.korea.net
