Top Russian official abruptly cancels trip to S. Korea

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, April 27 (Yonhap) -- A high-profile Russian envoy has abruptly called off
his trip to South Korea, slated for early this week, for an unspecified reason,
officials here said Monday.

Oleg Safonov, presidential representative to the Far East Federal District, was
scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Monday for a three-day stay, leading a delegation
of more than 300 other senior Russian officials in charge of energy development
and business leaders.
"The Russian side has canceled the planned trip," Choe Jong-hyun, deputy
spokesman at South Korea's foreign ministry said, without providing details.
Another ministry official said Russia informed South Korea of the cancellation
over the weekend.
"They did not clarify the reason," the official said, asking not to be named.
"They only said we will know later on. We are trying to find the exact reason."
In a press briefing last Thursday, South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan
confirmed Safonov's plan to visit here, expressing hopes that it will help Seoul
strengthen ties with Russia's Far East area on the energy sector.
Safonov was scheduled to meet with President Lee Myung-bak and other top South
Korean officials.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)