Clinton begins two-day trip to S. Korea for talks on NK nuke, alliance

(ATTN: RECASTS lead; UPDATES with Clinton's comments on N. Korean leadership,
details on her arrival in paras 3-8))
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived here
Thursday night to discuss the North Korea issue and the future of the
Seoul-Washington alliance, shortly after calling for a "new strategy" to deal
with a looming leadership crisis in the North.

Embarking on her first trip to South Korea as the top U.S. diplomat, Clinton was
greeted by new South Korean Ambassador to the United States Han Duk-soo at a
military airport south of Seoul. She had traveled to South Korea in 1993 and 1996
as first lady.
Clinton briefly waved to an army of photographers and television camera crews,
but gave no comments at the airport and headed straight to a Seoul hotel by car,
as she had no official schedule for the day.
"Our goal is to try to come up with a strategy that ... is effective in
influencing the behavior of the North Koreans at a time when the whole leadership
situation is somewhat unclear," she was quoted as saying, apparently referring to
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's reported illness.
She made the remarks on a flight to South Korea from Indonesia, accompanied by
Washington-based reporters, according to foreign news agencies.
Kim suffered a stroke last summer but he has recovered his health enough to
maintain his grip on the isolated nation, according to South Korean intelligence
officials. His health problem amid no clear successor to him raises worries about
the future of the tightly-controlled country itself.
The secretary said Kim's unstable condition has affected progress of the six-way
talks on North Korea's atomic weapons program and called for a new strategy to
break the impasse.
"I think this is an especially important time for South Korea as they are
confronting a lot of worries about what's up in North Korea, what the succession
could be, what it means for them," she said.
Meanwhile, Clinton will kick off her official activity here Friday morning with a
visit to the U.S. military command in Seoul.
She will hold a one-hour talk with Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on a wide range
of alliance issues, security concerns, and other global challenges, according to
Yu's ministry.
"Secretary Clinton is expected to use her trip to emphasize that the South
Korea-U.S. alliance is one of the most successful alliances in the world and that
the U.S. will closely consult with South Korea on the North Korean nuclear issue
and other items," a senior foreign ministry official told Yonhap News Agency.
She is expected to say during a press conference that Washington does not
recognize North Korea as a nuclear-armed state, he added, refusing to provide
details before the talks.
Yu and Clinton also plan to reaffirm their governments' commitment to making
concerted efforts on resolving global challenges, including climate change and
the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
The South Korean minister will brief the secretary on Seoul's plans to expand its
contributions to Afghanistan and play a greater role in global affairs. South
Korea is reportedly considering dispatching dozens of police officers and
firefighters to train their Afghan counterparts, as well as medical and
vocational training staff.
Clinton is also expected to comment on a pending free trade agreement between the
two nations that is awaiting Congressional ratification, saying she will make
efforts to move it forward, according to the South Korean official. During a
Senate confirmation hearing last month, Clinton indicated that she was not
satisfied with some provisions of the agreed-upon pact.
After holding a joint press conference with Yu, the secretary will pay a courtesy
call on President Lee Myung-bak, who arranged a one-hour luncheon meeting with
Clinton in an unusual break from protocol for a foreign guest who is not a head
of state.
Lee's aides said the president took into account Clinton's status as a former
first lady.
Clinton is also scheduled to meet briefly with Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, who
served as Seoul's ambassador to Washington during her husband's administration,
with the two expected to discuss climate issues and global economic woes.
The secretary will also meet a group of female students and various civic leaders
to show her support for women's empowerment before flying to China Friday night
for the fourth and last leg of her eight-day regional tour, which also took her
to Japan and Indonesia.
Her trip comes amid reports that North Korea is preparing for a ballistic missile
launch from a base on its east coast, backed by repeated verbal threats warning
of an "all-out confrontational posture" against the conservative South Korean
government.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)