Bush May Visit South Korea Before APEC

It was reported yesterday that South Korea and the U.S. tentatively agreed on the schedule for the U.S. President George Bush`s trip to South Korea before the 9th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which is to be held in China October 20-21.

Upon the U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell`s visit to South Korea, the two countries agreed on the President Bush`s visit to South Korea. It was reported that the South Korean government proposed Bush stay in Korea for two nights and three days. The two countries decided to continue to discuss the date and other details according to the President Bush`s schedule. In relation to this, the U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice told the former Foreign Minister Lee Jung-Bin, who was visiting the U.S. on February 27, that ``when the former President Bill Clinton visited China for as many as ten days in June 1998, he did not stop by allied countries like South Korea and Japan. However, our republic party will never do that.``

Boo Hyung-Kwon bookum90@donga.com