Putin Visits Seoul Next Week To Talk Sunshine, Business

Home > National > Politics

print dictionary print

Putin Visits Seoul Next Week To Talk Sunshine, Business

President Kim Dae-jung and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on Feb. 27, the first day of Mr. Putin's two-day state visit to Korea, presidential Spokesman Park Joon-young said Monday.

Mr. Putin and Mr. Kim will discuss stability and peace on the Korean Peninsula and development of inter-Korean relations, the presidential spokesman said.

The two leaders are expected to discuss North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's visit to Russia scheduled in April and his Seoul visit following that trip. The Russians are also expected to push three-way economic cooperation between Seoul, Pyongyang and Moscow. Russia has indicated a strong interest in linking the Kyongwon inter-Korean railroad with the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

The first visit in eight years by a Russian president, coming amid dramatic changes in inter-Korean relations, is another step in South Korean efforts to obtain support from its major allies and neighbors for Seoul's North Korean policy, popularly known as the "sunshine policy," analysts said.

Mr. Putin is expected to publically support the government's policy of reconciliation and cooperation toward North Korea during his visit.

The two leaders will agree, observers said, on the need for tension reductions between the Koreas. Mr. Putin is expected to affirm that the Koreas must take the lead in those efforts. Also on the agenda will be the question of Pyongyang's weapons of mass destruction.

In addition to rail transportation cooperation, Mr. Putin is expected to push Russia's efforts to repay $1.7 billion in aid from Seoul with military hardware, joint development of Russian gas fields and the Nahotka industrial park. "Russia maintains a policy of equidistance toward South and North, but by endorsing our rapprochement with the North, Russia can contribute to better relations between the two Koreas," Prof. Ko Jae-nam of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security said

Bilateral relations with Moscow have been somewhat sour of late; Seoul's diplomacy has been aimed toward United States, Japan and China.

by Kim Jin-kook

Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)