Obama Will Send Envoy to North Korea on Dec. 8
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak said Thursday that his administration is ready to talk with the United States to address Washington's concerns about an imbalance in car trade for U.S. ratification of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA).
The remark signals additional bilateral negotiations. The U.S. has called the deal, which was signed in June 2007, unfair to American automakers, while Korea ruled out any further talks.
The agenda of the Lee-Obama summit also included North Korea's nuclear program and ways to strengthen the Korea-U.S. alliance.
The two leaders urged Pyongyang to rejoin the six-party talks, saying an early resolution of the nuclear issue was fundamental to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
U.S. President Barack Obama said he will send an envoy to the North on Dec. 8 for direct talks.
During the press conference, the leaders did not make any statement on Seoul's planned dispatch of troops to Afghanistan, and a possible delay of the U.S. transfer of wartime military command control to Korea.
"If the auto issue matters, we are ready to talk," President Lee said during the conference following his summit with President Obama at Cheong Wa Dae. "But the one thing I want to clarify is that Korea's agricultural and services industries also feel the FTA with the U.S is unfair. On the whole, I don't think the deal is unfair to either side."
Obama said that several issues still needed to be worked out before Congress can ratify the deal.
"I told President Lee and his team that I am committed to seeing the two countries work together to move this agreement forward," Obama said. "But there are still issues to be discussed and worked on."
The two leaders voiced the common view that the FTA will be mutually beneficial economically, and strategically important for bilateral relations in the future.
Last year, Seoul and Washington had further negotiations over Korea's resumption of U.S. beef imports at the request of Korea when President Lee suffered a wave of protests here for the resumption amid safety concerns over mad cow disease. Korea had suspended U.S. beef imports since 2003 after the first case of mad cow case was discovered in the U.S.
Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said Thursday there would be additional talks on auto trade.
"Generally, additional talks can happen in any trade negotiations to address specific issues," Kim told reporters after the summit. "However, there will be no re-negotiation with the U.S. to revise the full text of the accord."
Seoul was the last stop on Obama's first Asian tour since his inauguration in January, which also took him to Tokyo, Singapore and Beijing. Obama arrived here Wednesday night and left for Washington Thursday afternoon. The Seoul meeting was the third summit between Lee and Obama this year.
The two leaders agreed to hold high-level security and defense talks next year to discuss ways to strengthen the alliance in recognition of the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950.
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