Roh Expected to Reaffirm ROK-U.S. Alliance during America Visit

President Roh Moo-hyun departed Seoul on Sunday afternoon for a weeklong visit to America.

President Roh will first meet with Korean Americans in New York City in the early morning of May 12 (hereinafter Korean time). He is also scheduled to have a summit meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush on May 15 to discuss cooperation measures to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis and relocation of U.S. forces in Korea, as well as adopt a joint statement.

During this trip, he will visit New York, Washington D.C., and San Francisco. His plans include gathering with major figures in the New York financial world; having a talk with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan; meeting with leaders from both the House and Senate; and visiting Silicon Valley. After completing about 30 items on his itinerary, he will return home in the afternoon of May 17.

Before boarding the presidential plane, Mr. Roh delivered a speech to the nation in which he said he would reaffirm friendly relations between Korea and the U.S. and try to solidify the alliance for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. He also said that he would consult with the U.S. President over how the two nations would cooperate to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis.

"At present, the two nations are in close cooperation with each other based on two principles of peaceful resolution of the nuclear crisis and not allowing the North to possess nuclear weapons. I will try my best to help this visit pave the way for peaceful settlement through cooperation between South Korea, the U.S. and other related nations," the President said.

"Another major purpose of this visit is to enhance bilateral cooperation in the economic sector. I will meet American economic leaders and enlist their help after explaining how we intend to reform the Korean economy with plans to develop South Korea into a Northeast Asian economic hub," he said.

He also added that rather than being intent on producing tangible results, he would try to pave the way for a better alliance between the two nations, peace on the peninsula, and Korea’s economic development.

Jeong-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com