By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
The United States has always supported an inter-Korean summit, South Korean Ambassador to Washington Han Duck-soo said Thursday.
His remarks came amid reports that President Lee Myung-bak may hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il soon. Lee said last month that he can ``meet with Kim within this year.''
``An inter-Korean summit is aimed at resolving bilateral issues,'' Han told reporters. ``The United States is well aware of Lee's philosophy.''
Han is on a brief trip back to his home country for an annual conference of mission chiefs here.
The ambassador also said that the United States remains firm in its stance to denuclearize North Korea in a ``complete and irreversible'' way.
``The biggest issue in Washington's North Korea policy is to completely and irreversibly dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear programs through peaceful talks,'' he said. ``Washington is having difficulties since North Korea has yet to return to the six-party talks but it appears that the United States remains unchanged in its resolve to denuclearize North Korea.''
Regarding the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, the ambassador said the U.S. administration appears to remain firm in its resolve to ratify the trade deal.
``After President Barack Obama returned from his visit to Korea last November, the United States seems to be determined on the agreement,'' he said ``But the political situation in Washington makes it hard to predict when Congress will ratify the FTA.''
Even other major issues including climate change, financial regulations and healthcare reform have yet to be dealt with, he explained.
``But we will make continuous efforts to persuade the U.S. Department of State and Congress to pass the FTA,'' he said.
The deal, signed in 2007, is awaiting ratification by parliaments of both countries. U.S. automakers have expressed concerns that the agreement may worsen the imbalance in auto trade between the two countries.
Han, a former prime minister, assumed the ambassador post last year.