S. Korean envoy to visit Japan on G-20 summit

SEOUL, March 10 (Yonhap) -- A special envoy of South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak will embark on a trip to Japan later Tuesday for discussions on joint
efforts to fight the global financial crisis ahead of the upcoming G-20 summit,
Seoul's presidential office said.

Sakong Il currently works as the head of a presidential committee helping to plan
the summit of the world's 20 largest economies to be held in London on April 2.
His visit to Japan will continue through Thursday, according to the presidential
office Cheong Wa Dae.
During his trip, Sakong will meet with the Japanese prime minister and other
ranking officials to deliver a personal message from the South Korean president.
"Special envoy Sakong will pay a visit to Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on
Wednesday and relay a personal letter from President Lee Myung-bak, which
includes a call for strengthening cooperation between the two countries to
produce 'deliverable' results at the London G-20 summit," the office said.
The visit comes following South Korea's agreement with Australia and Indonesia to
come up with a joint proposal for the G-20 summit on ways of overcoming the
financial crisis, made during the Lee's visit to those countries last week.
The envisioned proposal, according to Cheong Wa Dae, will largely draw on Seoul's
past experience in dealing with toxic assets at banks, which are at the root of
the current worldwide financial crisis.
Japan's support for the joint proposal would lend significant momentum to Seoul's
plan to become a regional representative, which falls under a new diplomatic
initiative announced during Lee's trip to Indonesia last week.
Seoul is a co-chair of the G-20 along with Britain and Brazil.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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