Roh Left for Bangkok APEC Meeting
2003-10-20
President Roh Moo-hyun left on Sunday for summit talks in Bangkok at the two-day annual conference of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum which begins on Monday.
In a departure statement, Roh said, "I will discuss how to promote economic and financial ties, establish a knowledge-based economy and cooperate on preventing terror."
Roh also said he will secure the support of the leaders for his North Korea policy, called "Peace and Prosperity," to seek a peaceful resolution of the crisis over Pyongyang's development of nuclear weapons.
Economic cooperation and the nuclear issue are expected to top the agenda of the summit, officials said.
Roh will hold a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts, including U.S. President George W. Bush.
The two leaders are expected to issue a joint statement after their summit and express their intent to discuss a security guarantee for North Korea, according to officials.
The statement will press for a second round of six-party talks on the nuclear issue and express willingness to talk about such a guarantee if Pyongyang abandons its nuclear program.
During the APEC summit, Roh will also meet leaders from other participants in in the multilateral talks. The negotiations in the Chinese capital were between South and North Korea, the United States, Japan, China and Russia.
The meeting comes at an auspicious time as South Korea decided Saturday to send combat troops to Iraq at the request of the U.S, brightening the prospects for a friendly summit statement.
The main agenda will be the tension on the Korean Peninsula since about a year ago, after the Stalinist state reportedly admitted a secret atomic weapons development program to U.S officials.
Six-nation talks on defusing the crisis were held for the first time in Beijing in August, but the parties have not been able to set a date for a second round.
Source : www.korea.net
