S. Korean FM, U.S. Congressional leader discuss alliance

SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan met Monday
with a visiting U.S. Congress leader and discussed the Seoul-Washington alliance,
the North Korean nuclear issue, and the free trade agreement between South Korea
and the U.S., Yu's ministry said.
Eni Faleomavaega, chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the
Global Environment, arrived here Sunday for a week-long stay, during which he
will also meet Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and receive an honorary doctorate in
philosophy from Chonbuk National University in Jeonju, some 240km south of Seoul.

The Congressman from American Samoa will also deliver a keynote speech at an
international forum on conservation in the Demilitarized Zone, a buffer zone
between the rival Koreas that is rich in wildlife. The forum will open in Seoul
on Wednesday.
The South Korean minister thanked Faleomavaega for his efforts to bolster the
South Korea-U.S. alliance and asked for Congressional support on the North Korean
nuclear issue and ratifying the FTA signed by the two allies.
"In response, Chairman Faleomavaega reaffirmed the importance of South Korea-U.S.
alliance and said he will continue efforts for the wide development of the two
countries' relations," the ministry said in a press release.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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