Lee, Obama to discuss closer alliance over phone Friday: Cheong Wa Dae

By Yoo Cheong-mo

SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is scheduled to call South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Friday morning (Korean time) to discuss ways to establish a stronger bilateral alliance, Lee's spokesman said Thursday.

President Lee is also planning to meet with a group of Obama's foreign policy
advisers in Washington D.C. on Nov. 14 before attending the Group of 20 financial
summit, according to spokesman Lee Dong-kwan.
"Traditionally, presidents-elect of the U.S. have given a thank you phone call to
foreign heads of state, who send a congratulatory telegram on their election
victory, in the order the telegrams are received," the spokesman said in his
media briefing.
"It has been confirmed that Lee was the fifth foreign leader to congratulate
Obama on his election win by telegram. Therefore, Obama is expected to call
President Lee early Friday morning (Korean time)," said the spokesman.
President Lee is planning to arrive in Washington D.C. on Nov. 14 to discuss ways
to overcome the global financial crisis together with U.S. President George W.
Bush and other leaders of the Group of 20 countries at a high-profile summit the
following day.
Obama, who won a landslide victory in Tuesday's U.S. presidential election, is
widely expected to attend the Group of 20 summit in his capacity as the next U.S.
president.
The president's spokesman refused to comment on the possibility of Lee's
one-on-one meeting with Obama on the sidelines of the global financial summit.
"The possibility of Obama traveling to Washington D.C. to attend the Group of 20
summit appears to be slim for now. But if he chooses to show up at the summit,
we'll push for President Lee's meeting with him. We'll make all diplomatic
efforts for all possibilities," said the spokesman.
By contrast, wire reports say that a number of global leaders, including Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, are pushing to
hold talks with Obama.
The spokesman noted that President Lee is scheduled to meet with a group of
Obama's foreign and security policy advisers under the auspices of the Brookings
Institution, shortly after his arrival in the U.S. capital, said the spokesman.
"Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution, Obama's senior foreign
policy adviser Susan Rice, Obama's Asian policy adviser Jeff Bader, and Ivo
Daalder, a foreign policy adviser to the Obama camp, will show up at the meeting
with President Lee," said the spokesman.
"The Obama advisers will explain the next U.S. administration's future foreign
and security policies, including those for the Korean Peninsula, before listening
to President Lee's explanation on his foreign policy directives," he said.
The Brookings Institution, one of the most prominent public think tanks based in
Washington D.C., has traditionally been involved in the Democratic Party's
policymaking process.
Lee and Obama's advisers are also expected to exchange views on pending North
Korea issues, the long-overdue Korea-U.S. free trade agreement deal and
readjustment of U.S. forces stationed in South Korea. The South Korean president
may also seek Obama's support for his policy to denuclearize and open North Korea
and to raise North Korea's per capital income to US$3,000.
On Wednesday, President Lee sent a congratulatory message to both Obama and his
running-mate, Joe Biden, and expressed hope for further development of bilateral
relations between South Korea and the U.S. and closer bilateral cooperation in
weathering the financial crisis.
"Closer cooperation between the two countries will help enhance global peace and
security. My government will fully cooperate with your government and other
partners in overcoming the financial crisis," President Lee said in the message.