Roh Ends Greece Visit With Agreement

President Roh Moo-hyun, who is paying a state visit to Greece, held a summit with his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias to discuss ways to further political, economic, and cultural cooperation bilaterally. The two heads of state also had a broad discussion on the situations on the Korean peninsula and Greece.

Roh is the first Korean president to make a state visit to Greece. This is also the first summit between the two countries since diplomatic relations were established in April 1961.

Papoulias agreed with Roh that the North Korean nuclear issue should be peacefully resolved through dialogue within the six-party framework while Roh praised Greece’s active diplomatic efforts for stability and prosperity in Southeast Europe that have been ongoing since the end of the Cold War.

Right after the summit, the two presidents attended a signing ceremony for the shipping and tourism areas.

Greece is the world’s largest shipping nation and owns 19 percent of the world’s ships. The shipping agreement includes unlimited access for marine transportation, national treatment for port use, acknowledgement of ship and sailor-related certification, and protection for ships in distress.

Roh leaves for Romania on Tuesday after a 3-day visit to Greece.

jyw11@donga.com