Bush Phones Kim and Urges Him to Visit Soon

President Kim Dae-jung and President George W. Bush may meet as early as March to discuss Korean and Northeast Asian affairs, presidential spokesman Park Joon-young said Thursday. "Foreign Minister Lee Joung-binn and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will meet in February to discuss the plan for President Kim to visit the United States in March to hold talks with Mr. Bush," the spokesman said. The two leaders talked for 20 minutes in a call by Mr. Bush on Thursday. The American president proposed the talks by saying "let us meet as soon as possible," a presidential aide who requested anonymity said. Seoul conveyed Mr. Kim's wish for a meeting with the new president through its presidential secretary for economic affairs, Lee Ki-ho, who attended Saturday's inauguration in Washington.

The South Korean government had been pursuing the summit meeting ever since the prolonged U.S. election results became definitive. Mr. Bush said, according to the Kim aide, that he is "well aware of, and I highly value, the accomplishments gained through Mr. Kim's policy toward North Korea. I hope to see you as soon as possible to exchange ideas on affairs regarding the Korean Peninsula." Referring to the North's recent espousal of a "new way of thinking" and its leader's visit to China this month, President Kim told Mr. Bush, "North Korea, while it adheres to socialism politically, will open up and reform its economy." The two leaders agreed that South Korea-U. S. relations are crucial to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. With Mr. Kim tentatively scheduling the Washington visit for March, government officials expect the Seoul visit by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, to be made around April or May.

The planned meeting in Washington signals the primacy of Korean affairs for the Bush administration, the presidential aide said. Many foreign policy experts expect Mr. Bush's team to advance a harder line against North Korea than did the Clinton administration. In the phone conversation, the aide added, Mr. Bush said that "South Korea is one of the most important U.S. allies" and that it "would be a learning experience to listen to the wisdom and experience of President Kim."

In response, Mr. Kim replied that the progress in close cooperation between Seoul and Washington, including a joint security stance and the three-way cooperation among South Korea, Japan and United States, contributed greatly to the progress in relations between the two Koreas. Analysts, however, said that there are areas that Mr. Kim and Mr. Bush need to fine-tune, especially in gauging the scope of changes that the North Korean leader hinted at during his visit to China last week.

by Kim Jin-kook