ID :
30635
Mon, 11/17/2008 - 10:48
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/30635
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Lee Myung-bak supports Obama's idea of meeting Kim Jong-il
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak Sunday
supported the idea of incoming U.S. President Barack Obama meeting with North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il to persuade the North to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
"It would be better for President-elect Obama to meet with Chairman Kim Jong-il
personally if it is helpful to North Korea's abandonment of its nuclear weapons,"
Lee said in a news conference with South Korean correspondents based here in
attendance.
Lee, who flew into Washington on Friday to attend the first economic summit of
the world's 20 biggest economies on ways to muddle through the ongoing global
financial crisis, is set to leave for Brasilia later in the day on his way to
Lima for an annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Last month at a presidential candidate debate, Obama dismissed Republic John
McCain's criticism that it is naive to meet with Kim without preconditions,
saying Bush's reluctance to deal directly with North Korea resulted in the
North's detonation of its first nuclear device in 2006 and the quadrupling of its
nuclear weapons to eight by the end of Bush's eight years in office.
Reports said that Obama may send a prominent figure as his special envoy to
Pyongyang soon after his inauguration on Jan. 20 to prepare for a possible visit
there himself to make a breakthrough in the on-and-off multilateral nuclear talks
that began in 2003.
Lee dismissed concerns the proposed meeting may alienate South Korea in the
crucial North Korean nuclear talks involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China,
Japan and Russia.
"We have a perfect relationship with the U.S., and as you know more deeply about
the relationship between South Korea and the U.S. you don't have to worry about
it," he said.
Lee noted that Obama called him just days after his election in early November,
and affirmed that he will consult South Korea before dealing with North Korea.
"President-elect Obama made such a confirmation even though I did not make any
such proposal, and the pledge is much clearer than the Bush administration," he
said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak Sunday
supported the idea of incoming U.S. President Barack Obama meeting with North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il to persuade the North to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
"It would be better for President-elect Obama to meet with Chairman Kim Jong-il
personally if it is helpful to North Korea's abandonment of its nuclear weapons,"
Lee said in a news conference with South Korean correspondents based here in
attendance.
Lee, who flew into Washington on Friday to attend the first economic summit of
the world's 20 biggest economies on ways to muddle through the ongoing global
financial crisis, is set to leave for Brasilia later in the day on his way to
Lima for an annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Last month at a presidential candidate debate, Obama dismissed Republic John
McCain's criticism that it is naive to meet with Kim without preconditions,
saying Bush's reluctance to deal directly with North Korea resulted in the
North's detonation of its first nuclear device in 2006 and the quadrupling of its
nuclear weapons to eight by the end of Bush's eight years in office.
Reports said that Obama may send a prominent figure as his special envoy to
Pyongyang soon after his inauguration on Jan. 20 to prepare for a possible visit
there himself to make a breakthrough in the on-and-off multilateral nuclear talks
that began in 2003.
Lee dismissed concerns the proposed meeting may alienate South Korea in the
crucial North Korean nuclear talks involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China,
Japan and Russia.
"We have a perfect relationship with the U.S., and as you know more deeply about
the relationship between South Korea and the U.S. you don't have to worry about
it," he said.
Lee noted that Obama called him just days after his election in early November,
and affirmed that he will consult South Korea before dealing with North Korea.
"President-elect Obama made such a confirmation even though I did not make any
such proposal, and the pledge is much clearer than the Bush administration," he
said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
