S. Korean, U.S. top diplomats likely to hold strategic talks: source

SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Yonhap) -- Seoul and Washington have been discussing holding a
ministerial-level strategic dialogue next month between South Korean Foreign
Minister Yu Myung-hwan and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a diplomatic
source here said Sunday.
"Both nations are planning for Yu and Clinton to hold strategic talks in
Washington in late February and will announce details after the schedule is
confirmed," said the source, asking anonymity.
The Korea-U.S. strategic talks, if held, will come for the first time in four
years since then South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon met with his U.S.
counterpart Condoleezza Rice to hold the inaugural session in January 2006.
"At the first meeting in 2006, Seoul and Washington had agreed to hold the talks
regularly, but the agreement has not been observed due to a scheduling problem,"
the source added. "The upcoming strategic talks, if realized, will also be
meaningful as the first such meeting since their leaders adopted the vision for
the future of the bilateral alliance at their summit in Washington in June last
year."
The two top diplomats may discuss ways to share their views on regional and
global issues, and coordinate the allies' policy on the North Korean nuclear
crisis, as relevant countries are striving to resume the six-party talks on the
North's denuclearization.
brk@yna.co.kr
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