S. Korean FM to visit U.N. headquarters for N. Korea discussions

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign minister plans to visit New York
later this week while en route to Washington, where he will meet Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton and other senior officials for talks on North Korea, aides
said Monday.
Yu Myung-hwan's trip to New York is aimed at receiving on-site briefings from
South Korean diplomats there on the development of the U.N. Security Council's
push for a new resolution against North Korea's second nuclear test last week,
they added. Yu is scheduled to leave for New York on Wednesday night.
South Korea is not a member of the 15-member council but is closely consulting
with the U.S., Japan, and other allies.
The resolution, if adopted, could impose additional sanctions on the communist
nation as well as bolster existing ones. Measures could include a freeze of North
Korean assets abroad and more stringent searches of North Korean ships suspected
of carrying illicit weapons, as well as a travel ban for top-level North Korean
officials.
"Minister Yu wants to review related discussions at the U.N.," a ministry
official said.
He will then head to Washington for talks with Secretary Clinton, slated for
Friday, on how to deal with North Korea, he added.
Yu and Clinton will also fine-tune the agenda for a summit meeting between
President Lee Myung-bak and President Barack Obama to be held in Washington on
June 16.
"Minister Yu also plans to meet other senior U.S. officials and academic figures
in Washington but exact schedules have yet to be fixed," the official said.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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