S. Korean president seeks support for open trade, N. Korea policy

By Byun Duk-kun
LONDON, April 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak continued to
seek support for an anti-protectionist accord Wednesday ahead of the G-20
economic summit while also pushing for a unified front against North Korea's
suspected missile launch.
The South Korean president was set for a series of bilateral meetings with
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on
Wednesday and his first one-on-one meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on
Thursday, shortly before the start of the G-20 summit.
The bilateral meetings, according to South Korean officials accompanying the
president here, will give Lee a chance to seek support for his call for a
"stand-still" on trade policy.
Lee said earlier that he would propose a "roll back" on trade protectionism among
countries, noting there are some that are clearly engaged in such practices.
"We must reject all forms of protectionism if we want to revive world trade," Lee
said in a meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown shortly after his
arrival here Tuesday.
As an actionable step toward free trade, Lee will propose that countries lower
trade barriers while giving the World Trade Organization (WTO) a greater
monitoring role.
"I plan to suggest the WTO regularly produce a report on the implementation of
the stand-still policy to discourage countries from taking measures that can be
considered protectionist even if they do not violate WTO regulations," he said in
an interview with U.S. television news network CNBC on Wednesday.
Lee's drive will be highlighted here Thursday when South Korea and the European
Union are expected to sign a free trade agreement, opening over 96 percent of
their markets in the coming years.
The South Korean president is also seeking support to discourage North Korea from
proceeding with a rocket launch this month that Pyongyang says will send a
satellite into space. Seoul and Washington suspect Pyongyang is actually
preparing to test a long-range missile.
Answering his call, the British prime minister, in summit talks with Lee, agreed
that any North Korean rocket launch would violate U.N. Security Council
Resolution 1718, which prohibits Pyongyang from any missile-related activities.
Japan, one of the strongest critics of North Korea, has vowed to intercept any
North Korean rocket if any parts of it threaten to fall on its territory.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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