By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter
South Koreans and Guatemalans will be allowed to visit each other's country without obtaining a visa for 90 days or less.
President Roh Moo-hyun and Guatemalan President Oscar Berger held a summit in Guatemala on Tuesday, KST, and signed bilateral accords on the visa-waiver program.
Roh is visiting Guatemala City, the venue of the 119th Assembly of the International Olympic Committee to select a city to host the 2014 Winter Olympics. Korea's PyeongChang is competing against Sochi, Russia, and Salzburg, Austria, to become the official host. The IOC will select the venue Thursday morning, KST.
The two presidents also agreed to widen bilateral relations in commerce, investment, education, health, information technology and culture, said Roh's spokesman Cheon Ho-seon.
He said the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the steady improvement in ties between Korea and Guatemala since the establishment of their diplomatic ties in 1962. They agreed to regularize high-level policy coordination talks.
``President Berger reconfirmed his government's support of Seoul's effort to peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear problem, while President Roh stressed that PyeongChang's successful hosting of the 2014 Winter Olympics would contribute to peace on the Korean Peninsula,'' Cheon said.
Berger told reporters that the visit strengthened relations between the two countries.
``Korea and Guatemala are partners in matters of politics, economy, trade and aid,'' he said.
Cabinet ministers of the two sides also signed a memorandum of understanding in which Korea will issue loans totaling nearly $30 million to Guatemala to upgrade IT skills.
The two presidents held talks for 20 minutes at the National Palace of Culture in the Guatemalan capital.