Lee Stresses Stronger Korea-US Alliance
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
President-elect Lee Myung-bak said Friday that Seoul and Washington should work together more closely to bolster the Korea-U.S. alliance and build peace on the peninsula.
Lee made the remark in a meeting with U.S. experts on Korea at his office to discuss key issues such as the alliance; North Korea's nuclear programs, human rights and refugees; and inter-Korean economic relations.
The experts included William Perry, former secretary of the Department of Defense; Robert Gallucci, dean of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University; Paul Wolfowitz, former president of the World Bank; and Robert A. Scalapino, professor emeritus at UC Berkeley.
They invited the incoming President to visit the U.S. soon.
Rep. Joo Ho-young, a spokesman for Lee, said the President-elect will seek to hold a summit with President George W. Bush immediately after he takes office.
Joo declined to offer details of the closed meeting which lasted 90 minutes, merely saying Lee and the US experts exchanged extensive views on North Korea.
Lee's presidential transition team said it will soon chart a plan to build a strategic and mutually-beneficial partnership between Korea and the United States.
Team members said the incoming government would work closely with U.S. policymakers on the plan.
The President-elect will soon dispatch a special envoy to Washington ― rumored to be Rep. Chung Mong-joon.
Rep. Park Jin of the Grand National Party (GNP) said that Seoul would seek to renegotiate the transfer of wartime operational control of the Korean military from the U.S. to Korean commanders.
``The new administration will wait and see how issues related to North Korea's nuclear programs progress, and discuss with Washington a renegotiation of the transfer of wartime control,'' Park said.
Park, who is an influential voice inside the Lee team on foreign policy, said the new administration will respect the agreement made between the two countries.
According to the agreement, the transfer will be completed by April 2012.
Previously, U.S. Ambassador to Korea Alexander Vershbow made it clear that the transfer will be completed on schedule.
Rep. Joo said Lee will send special envoys to the U.S., Japan, China and Russia as soon as possible.
He added that the President-elect will decide on whom to dispatch by next Tuesday at the earliest, and discuss their schedule with the incumbent government.