S. Korean president heads home after Central Asia trip

By Byun Duk-kun
ASTANA, May 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak departed here
Thursday for home as he wrapped up a two-nation Central Asia trip that took him
to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan for talks with their leaders on improving bilateral
ties.
Lee was scheduled to arrive in Seoul later Thursday.
"The most significant outcome of the trip came in the fact that the countries
have agreed to significantly strengthen their ties and increase economic
cooperation with South Korea," an official said.
Lee and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev agreed to upgrade their countries'
relationship to a "strategic partnership," a move that calls on the countries to
increase their cooperation and exchange in all aspects, including economic,
social and cultural sectors.
The countries have also agreed to boost their energy cooperation, as Astana asked
Seoul to begin taking part in the initial stages of developing its natural
resources, including uranium.
South Korea purchased nearly 40 percent of its 4,000 tons of uranium imports last
year from Kazakhstan.
"This has a very significant meaning because it means we will secure a mineral
(uranium) that is strategically very important to us," Lee Dong-kwan, a spokesman
for the South Korean president, said Wednesday.
Lee's trip to the region also came as part of Seoul's efforts to improve its
diplomatic relations with the Central Asian nations under its new diplomatic
campaign, the so-called "New Asia Initiative," which calls on Seoul to actively
promote the mutual interests of Asian nations in the international community.
"Both of our countries are undergoing difficulties in the face of the global
economic crisis. This is when we must establish a strategic relationship to form
a joint front against the economic crisis," Lee said Wednesday while meeting with
a group of Korean and Kazakh business representatives here.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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