(LEAD) Leaders of S. Korea, Australia discuss N. Korea, global economy

(ATTN: INSERTS 4th para to highlight an agreement by leaders to establish a working
group on G-20 summit)
By Byun Duk-kun

HUA HIN, Thailand, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd met on Sunday and agreed to closely
cooperate for an early recovery of the global economy and a nuclear-free Korean
Peninsula, Lee's office said.
The meeting came as President Lee wound up a three-nation Southeast Asian tour
that already took him to Vietnam and Cambodia. Lee and Rudd were at this Thai
royal beach resort for the East Asia Summit involving Japan, China, India, New
Zealand as well as the 10 member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN)
"The leaders agreed to further strengthen their cooperation for the successful
meeting of the G-20 economic summit to be hosted by South Korea next year," South
Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.
Kim Eun-hye, a Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman, said the leaders also agreed to
establish a working group on the G-20 summit.
At the meeting with Rudd, Lee's fourth so far this year, the president sought
Australia's support for his "grand bargain" proposal for North Korea to give up
its nuclear program in a single step, instead of in phases, in exchange for
economic and political rewards.
Rudd expressed support for the proposal and called for North Korea's immediate
return to six-way negotiations on its denuclearization, which have been suspended
since late last year, Cheong Wa Dae said.
President Lee is scheduled to return home later in the day following the end of
the East Asia Summit.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)