By Kim Tae-gyu
President to visit Netherlands, Germany President Park Geun-hye will visit the Netherlands and Germany from March 24 to 28, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday.
In The Hague, Park will attend the Third Nuclear Security Summit on March 24 and 25 and then make a state visit to Germany for a summit with Chancellor Angela Merkel, the presidential office said.
At the nuclear summit, Park will be one of three keynote speakers — alongside U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Korea hosted the previous summit in 2012.
Parks speech will focus on how the world can cooperate in responsible ways to prevent nuclear terrorism.
It remains to be seen whether she will take issue with Japans plan to operate a reprocessing facility from later this year, which can produce vast amounts of weapons-grade plutonium.
Japan contends that the $22 billion Rokkasho plant on its Pacific coast is just for energy but once it is running at full capacity, it will churn out around eight tons of plutonium every year, enough to build hundreds of nuclear weapons.
In addition, the island country that retains the worlds third-largest number of nuclear reactors already has a massive stockpile of plutonium.
These facts have prodded Seoul to show concern.
"We are not sure yet if Park will raise the topic in front of world leaders," a Cheong Wa Dae official said.
Also of note is the possibility of President Park meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to deal with the protracted diplomatic tensions generated by the latters provocative acts and remarks, which critics say demonstrate his lack of reflection on Japans wartime atrocities.
Although Abe and some U.S. politicians have made repeated requests for a summit, Parks aides have reiterated that she will not meet Abe without a change in attitude by the hawkish politician.
On the sidelines of the gathering, which will be attended by leaders from 53 countries and four international organizations, Park will meet Rutte and Dutch King Willem-Alexander.
President to visit Netherlands, Germany President Park Geun-hye will visit the Netherlands and Germany from March 24 to 28, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday.
In The Hague, Park will attend the Third Nuclear Security Summit on March 24 and 25 and then make a state visit to Germany for a summit with Chancellor Angela Merkel, the presidential office said.
At the nuclear summit, Park will be one of three keynote speakers — alongside U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Korea hosted the previous summit in 2012.
Parks speech will focus on how the world can cooperate in responsible ways to prevent nuclear terrorism.
It remains to be seen whether she will take issue with Japans plan to operate a reprocessing facility from later this year, which can produce vast amounts of weapons-grade plutonium.
Japan contends that the $22 billion Rokkasho plant on its Pacific coast is just for energy but once it is running at full capacity, it will churn out around eight tons of plutonium every year, enough to build hundreds of nuclear weapons.
In addition, the island country that retains the worlds third-largest number of nuclear reactors already has a massive stockpile of plutonium.
These facts have prodded Seoul to show concern.
"We are not sure yet if Park will raise the topic in front of world leaders," a Cheong Wa Dae official said.
Also of note is the possibility of President Park meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to deal with the protracted diplomatic tensions generated by the latters provocative acts and remarks, which critics say demonstrate his lack of reflection on Japans wartime atrocities.
Although Abe and some U.S. politicians have made repeated requests for a summit, Parks aides have reiterated that she will not meet Abe without a change in attitude by the hawkish politician.
On the sidelines of the gathering, which will be attended by leaders from 53 countries and four international organizations, Park will meet Rutte and Dutch King Willem-Alexander.
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