By Bernama
Seoul : South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said Tuesday he will discuss various ways of resuming six-way talks on the North Korean nuclear issue when he meets with his U.S. counterpart Condoleezza Rice this week.
Preparations for next month’s summit between the leaders of the two nations will also be high on the agenda in his talks with Rice slated for Wednesday, he added.
“I plan to have consultations on various ways to resume the six-way talks at an early date, in consideration of both the U.S. domestic political situation such as the presidential election, and the geo-political conditions in the region,” Yonhap news agency quoted Yu as saying in a brief meeting with reporters before heading to Washington.
This will be Yu’s first trip to the U.S. since taking office a month ago.
The minister was responding to a question on whether he expects any good news from his American counterpart regarding the results of the Geneva talks between the chief nuclear envoys from the U.S. and North Korea two weeks ago.
Efforts to resolve the nuclear crisis have been deadlocked for months due to disputes over Pyongyang’s alleged uranium-enrichment program and nuclear connection with Syria. The secretive nation flatly denies the suspicions.
Yu said that consultations among related countries aimed at maintaining momentum in the nuclear talks are underway, adding his trip to Beijing last week was part of it.
He said he will also seek to lay the groundwork for a successful summit between South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President George W. Bush.
“There is a need to fine-tune details for the South Korea-U.S. summit slated for April,” he said. Lee, who was sworn in late last month, will meet Bush at Camp David from April 18-19.
The South Korean and U.S. top diplomats will also discuss the two sides’ free trade agreement (FTA) which has yet to be ratified by their legislatures, and a proposed visa waiver program (VWP) for South Koreans planning to visit the U.S., according to ministry officials.
Seoul and Washington want the FTA to be ratified as soon as possible, citing time constraints in the U.S. presidential election year. South Korea aims to join the VWP, which would enable its citizens to enter the U.S. without a visa and stay there up to 90 days, by the end of this year.
Yu plans to meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley Thursday to exchange ideas on bolstering the alliance.
“Minister Yu will then head to New York, where he will have dinner with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,” said Cho Yun-soo, deputy spokesman at the ministry.
Yu is expected to return to Seoul on Sunday, he added.