S. Korea, U.S. to adopt joint summit declaration on alliance

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SEOUL, May 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama plan to adopt a joint declaration calling for strengthening the alliance between the two countries when they hold their first summit in Washington next week, her spokesman said Friday.

Park is scheduled to visit the United States from May 5-10 for talks with Obama.

"On the occasion of a summit, the two countries will adopt a joint declaration about ways to move relations between the two counties forward at a time when they mark the 60th anniversary this year of the alliance," presidential spokesman Yoon Chang-jung said.

Park's visit to the U.S. carries an important meaning in that it is the first overseas trip since she took office and will set the direction for moving relations between the two countries forward, Yoon said.

The summit is expected to upgrade the level of cooperation between the two countries, he said.

"President Park is expected to strengthen cooperation with the U.S. on North Korea issues, including the standoff over its nuclear programs, while securing U.S. understanding and support for (Park's) trust-based diplomacy and other key policies," the spokesman said.

Forging a united front on North Korea is expected to be the most important issue for the summit.

The meeting comes as North Korea has toned down war rhetoric and begun talking about the possibility of dialogue after weeks of nuclear strike threats and other menacing bombast against South Korea and the United States.

Since taking office in February, Park has maintained a two-track approach to Pyongyang. Under what is dubbed the "Korean Peninsula trust process," she has pledged strong retaliation against any provocations while also calling for dialogue and exchanges to foster trust and reduce tensions.

Park has said repeatedly that a nuclear-armed North Korea can never be tolerated. Still, she also pledged not to link humanitarian aid for the impoverished North to security issues, a departure from her predecessor Lee Myung-bak, who insisted on linking any assistance to progress in disarming the North.

The U.S. has taken a tougher line. In a joint statement issued when Secretary of State John Kerry visited Seoul last month, South Korea and the U.S. said the North "must prove its seriousness by taking meaningful steps to abide by its international obligations."

Park and Obama are expected to reaffirm their principle that a nuclear North Korea is unacceptable, officials said. The two leaders are also expected to speak with one voice in saying they won't reward North Korea's bad behavior.

Enhancing economic cooperation, such as ensuring the implementation of a free trade deal between the two countries, and boosting the partnership on major global issues, such as climate change and development cooperation, are also expected to be on the table, officials said.

Other topics are expected to include South Korea's demand for the right to reprocess spent fuel and enrich uranium for atomic power plants. Seoul has no such rights under a 1974 bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation deal with Washington.

The U.S. has been reluctant to accept the demand because of proliferation concerns.

Since 2010, the two sides have had negotiations on rewriting the accord, set to expire in March next year, but have so far failed to find a compromise. They settled last month on a two-year extension of the existing deal, a stopgap measure aimed at buying time for more negotiations.

A day after the summit, Park is also scheduled to deliver a speech at a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives. She will be the sixth South Korean president to do so. Officials said it is quite unusual for a foreign leader to make such a speech during an "official visit," instead of a more formal "state visit."

During the speech, Park plans to mainly touch on the 60 years of the alliance, outline how much South Korea has developed in political, economic, social and cultural aspects so far, and put forward her visions about North Korea, peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia, officials said.

Accompanying Park will be a massive 51-member delegation of South Korean business leaders, including such top tycoons as Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Mong-koo, LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo and POSCO Chairman Chung Joon-yang.

It will be one of the largest business delegations ever to accompany a president on a trip. They plan to attend a dinner reception marking the 60th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance and a business round-table meeting hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S. to adopt joint summit declaration on alliance | YONHAP NEWS

60 years and going strong!

 

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Park's office creates English slogan for upcoming visit to U.S.
SEOUL, May 3 (Yonhap) -- The office of South Korean President Park Geun-hye created an English-language slogan for her upcoming visit to the United States, her spokesman said Friday, an unprecedented move that shows the importance attached to next week's summit with President Barack Obama.

The slogan, "Bound by trust, forward together," crystallizes South Korea's hope to use the White House summit, set for May 7, to move the alliance with the United States forward based on trust, a key word for the Park administration's foreign policy.

"This English slogan was created on our own and condenses the meaning this summit carries toward the American people," presidential spokesman Yoon Chang-jung said. "As far as I know, this is the first time that (South Korea) has put forward an English-language slogan about a summit."

The slogan appears to be aimed at sending a message to the U.S. that Seoul wants to further strengthen relations with Washington on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of their alliance and to resolve the North Korean nuclear matter and others based on trust.

"President Park is expected to bolster cooperation with the United States on the nuclear standoff and other North Korean issues and secure understanding and backing from the United States about South Korea's 'trust-based' diplomacy and other key policies," Yoon said.

Park's office creates English slogan for upcoming visit to U.S. | YONHAP NEWS