S. Korea, US Remove Last Hurdle to Visa Waiver

South Korea and the United States Wednesday agreed to exchange information on suspected criminals, clearing the last hurdle to implementation of a visa waiver program that allows their citizens visa-free visits to each other's country for up to 90 days.

"I met with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff today and virtually concluded talks on details on implementation of the Visa Waiver Program by the end of the year," Yonhap News quoted South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan as saying.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President George W. Bush agreed in April to implement the VWP by the end of the year to help ease the long lines in front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul to get U.S. entry visas.

Yu said he and Chertoff concluded detailed procedures on providing criminal records of a limited number of suspects so immigration authorities of the two sides could access such information automatically at airports.

The minister was quoted as saying that the automatic inquiry system does not provide detailed criminal records but would confirm in the form of yes or no if someone has been involved in a certain type of crime.

"Only a handful number of people are subject to the system, and also the system is reciprocal," he said, adding that a certain number of Americans are also affected.

The U.S. wants to introduce a crime inquiry system with 27 other countries with which Washington maintains VWPs, according to Yu.

The minister said he came to Washington to put a final touch on the VWP after working-level talks recently hit a snag over the exchange of criminal record information.