Russian deputy PM due in Seoul for energy talks

(ATTN: UPDATES with foreign ministry's announcement, other details)
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Yonhap) -- Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin will visit
South Korea later this week to discuss ways to boost bilateral cooperation in the
energy sector, officials here said Monday.

Sechin, who oversees Russia's energy policy, will arrive in Seoul aboard his
personal plane on Wednesday, shortly after attending a ceremony to mark the
opening of his country's first-ever liquefied natural gas (LNG) production
terminal on the island of Sakhalin in its Far East.
The terminal will provide 1.5 million tons of LNG to South Korea, 6 percent of the
nation's current total consumption, each year starting in April over the next 20
years, enabling South Korea to diversify its energy supply sources.
"Deputy Prime Minister Sechin is scheduled to make a three-day visit to South
Korea Feb. 18-20, during which he will pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Han
Seung-soo and have a dinner meeting with Knowledge Economy Minister Lee Yoon-ho,
as well as meet representatives from related domestic companies," foreign
ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said.
Sechin will be accompanied by several senior Russian officials including its
energy minister and the presidents of state-owned oil and defense firms, Moon
added.
The delegation led by the deputy prime minister is expected to use its
forthcoming trip to have "in-depth" discussions on Seoul's imports of Russian
natural gas, joint oil development in the western Kamchatka region, and atomic
energy sector, according to the spokesman.
Minister Lee and South Korean Ambassador to Moscow Lee kyu-hyung also plan to
attend the opening ceremony for the LNG terminal.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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