Bush Cancels Visit to Seoul, Will Meet Kim in Shanghai

WASHINGTON － U.S. President George W. Bush canceled his Oct. 18 visit to South Korea, to deal with the aftermath of the terrorist attack, the White House announced Tuesday (Washington time).

"President Bush's visit to South Korea and Japan has been canceled. But he will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Oct. 20 and 21 in Shanghai," a spokesman said.

Mr. Bush's trip to Shanghai will not be a state visit, and there will be no visit to the Chinese capital by Mr. Bush, the White House said.

But Seoul and Washington reportedly have agreed that Mr. Bush and President Kim Dae-jung would meet on the sidelines of the APEC meeting.

South Korean officials said that the cancellation was understandable, while signaling that they would continue to work for a chance for the two leaders to sit down and discuss North Korea. Seoul had been moving aggressively to arrange talks between Mr. Bush and Mr. Kim, as a heavy slate of inter-Korean reconciliation overtures is scheduled in October. Mr. Kim had planned to fly to New York on Sept. 24 to meet with Mr. Bush while attending a UNICEF conference, but canceled the trip after the terror attacks.

"The chance for summit talks is unchanged," senior officials at the South Korean Embassy here said. The White House reportedly asked the South Korean government to work toward another meeting between the two leaders later.

"Considering all things, it may well be sometime next spring," a South Korean government official said.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the United States, U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and South Korean Foreign Minister Han Seung-soo in New York agreed that United States would pursue dialogue with North Korea, one of the seven countries listed by Washington as state sponsors of terrorism.

The Bush administration has maintained a skeptical distance toward the North Korean government, which South Korea hopes to engage in a process of deeper opening and cooperation be-tween the two Koreas. South Korean President Kim Dae-jung also continues to push for a Seoul visit by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, in that process.

by Kim Jin