Senior S. Korean official to visit U.S. for discussions on alliance

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Yong-joon
was to leave for Washington later Wednesday to discuss alliance issues with
senior U.S. officials, a diplomatic source here said.

Lee's three-day trip will set the stage for the start of full-scale face-to-face
consultations on a working level between the allies under the U.S. administration
of Barack Obama.
Obama had his first summit with President Lee Myung-bak early this month in
London, while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Seoul in February to
hold talks with her counterpart Yu Myung-hwan. Kim Sung-hwan, senior secretary to
the South Korean president for foreign affairs and national security, also
traveled to Washington in February.
"There has been no working-level meeting, however, since the launch of the Obama
administration," the source said. "Deputy Foreign Minister Lee's trip is the
beginning of such consultations."
Lee is scheduled to meet the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs,
William Burns, and other ranking officials, the source said, adding that South
Korea and the U.S. are also trying to set a date for the first "strategic
dialogue" between Vice Foreign Minister Kwon Jong-rak and Deputy Secretary of
State James Steinberg.
"The two sides are pushing for the meeting to be held in Seoul before a summit
between the presidents on June 16, in which they plan to issue a new blueprint
for the alliance," the source said.
South Korea's top diplomat also hopes to visit Washington to prepare for the
summit, but he has yet to fix a date due to a tight schedule next month.
Obama named Kurt Campbell as assistant secretary of state in charge of East Asian
affairs last week. Campbell has yet to undergo a congressional confirmation
hearing.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)