President Roh Arrives in Berlin

President Roh Moo-hyun paid a state visit to Germany on April 10.

The president and the first lady left for Germany from Seoul Airport in Songnam on April 10 and arrived in Berlin on 3:00 p.m. that same day, German time.

Just after arriving at the Intercontinental Hotel, the President had a meeting with about 300 ethnic Koreans in the city.

President Roh will have a summit meeting with German President Horst Koehler and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on April 11 and 13, respectively, and will discuss measures for cooperation for North Korea’s reform and opening, anti-terrorism efforts, and the expansion of bilateral trade.

According to reports, the president will comment on the fact that Germany has seriously apologized and reflected upon its past, and will urge Japan to change its attitude regarding the distortion of facts in Japanese history textbooks.

Jung-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com