Kim Diplomatic Agenda For Shanghai Includes Seven Sideline Summits

President Kim Dae-jung will visit Shanghai from Oct. 18 to Oct. 22 to take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting.

Mr. Kim will hold separate talks with seven or eight heads of state, including U.S. President George W. Bush, Chinese Prime Minister Jiang Zemin, Russian President Vladimir Putin and, perhaps, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

The meetings will provide the opportunity, analysts said, for Mr. Kim to readjust relations with the four major powers surrounding the Korean Peninsula and to rally their support, which Mr. Kim considers vital, for progress in inter-Korean relations.

In talks with Mr. Bush on Oct. 19, Mr. Kim will discuss cooperation in the war against terrorism and reconfirm U.S. support for South Korea's engagement policy toward North Korea and for North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to visit Seoul.

China and Russia, as North Korea's closest allies, are also key to developments in inter-Korean relations, analysts said. Mr. Jiang visited Pyongyang at the beginning of September and Kim Jong-il met with Mr. Putin in early August during an extensive visit to Russia. Also, China has pressed Kim Jong-il to resume talks with the South. Its support for reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula could play an important role in salvaging inter-Korean relations from the present stalemate, the analysts said.

Talks with Mr. Putin and possibly with Mr. Koizumi, could also provide the opportunity for Kim Dae-jung to find a solution to the dispute on fishing off the Southern Kuril Islands. Russia and Japan recently agreed in principle to ban third countries from the grounds, where Korea has fished in the past.

Korea and Japan also are still at odds over their assessments of 20th-century history .

But with the United States preoccupied with its war against terrorism and Mr. Koizumi apparently confident that Russia will return the Southern Kurils, concrete results will be difficult to achieve in the talks, diplomats predicted.

Meanwhile in Seoul, James Kelly, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, said during a two-day visit that the United States would consult with the South in case it deems Korean medical and transport troop support necessary. He did not specify any demand but thanked Korea for its support.

In talks with Deputy Foreign Minister Yim Sung-joon, he reconfirmed U.S. readiness to hold talks with Pyongyang without any precondition.

Mr. Kelly will meet Friday with Unification Minister Hong Soon-young and Defense Minister Kim Dong-shin.

by Kim Jin-kook