Han meets acting U.S. assistant secretary of state

New Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Han Seung-Soo met Tuesday with Thomas Hubbard, acting U.S. assistant secretary of state, now visiting Seoul to attend the Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group (TSOG). The group is to fine-tune North Korea policies among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo. Han told Hubbard that he would seek to solidify the Korea-U.S. alliance through closer cooperation with the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush.

He stressed the importance of managing inter-Korean relations wisely on the basis of engagement, ministry officials said. Officials interpreted the new minister`s remarks to mean that Seoul would stress the need for mutual assistance between Seoul and Washington in the course of examining their North Korea policies in the days to come.

Boo Hyung-Kwon bookum90@donga.com