By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan will begin a trip to the United States today for talks with his U.S. counterpart and other senior officials on the planned summit between the leaders of the two nations next month and issues of mutual concern, a ministry spokesman said Monday.
``The first priority of this visit by Yu is to prepare for a successful South Korea-U.S. summit,'' the spokesman said. ``This will be the first step toward restoring Korea-U.S. ties.''
President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President George W. Bush will hold their first summit April 18-19 at Camp David, the U.S. presidential retreat in Maryland.
The minister will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on March 26 in Washington, D.C., to coordinate agenda items for the summit, said the spokesman.
Yu and Rice are also expected to discuss outstanding issues, such as the North Korea nuclear situation, ratification of a bilateral free trade agreement and South Korea's joining the U.S. visa waiver program, he said.
The two sides will also discuss other international issues, including the war in Iraq, recognition of Kosovo's independence, the turmoil in Tibet, as well as cooperation on international peacekeeping efforts and Seoul's plan to increase its Official Development Assistance (ODA) for developing countries, he added.
On March 27, Yu is scheduled to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to discuss ways to improve the bilateral military alliance. They are expected to touch on issues of defense cost sharing and the transition of wartime operational control from the U.S. to South Korea. He is also scheduled to meet National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.
Yu plans to pay a courtesy call on United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York March 28, following meetings with representatives of U.S. think tanks including the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The minister will return home Saturday.