Goodwill signs as Koizumi starts trip

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi flew into Seongnam Airport near Seoul Thursday, beginning his three-day visit to South Korea as one of the worst yellow sand storms rendered the Korean skies fuzzy brown.

Mr. Koizumi's visit, the second in six months, will be clearer than the weather, as he meets with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung Friday, mainly to discuss cooperation between the two joint hosts of the World Cup.

The two leaders will also discuss a proposed bilateral free trade agreement and review progress in the seven agreements reached last October, including formation of a joint research council to find a common interpretation of Japan's colonization of South Korea during 1910-1945.

Mr. Koizumi arrived aboard a Japanese Self-Defense Force plane. He was greeted by South Korean Foreign Minister Choi Sung-hong and the two countries' ambassadors Cho Se-hyung of South Korea and Terusuke Terada of Japan. A South Korean military guard fired a 19-gun salute.

Mr. Koizumi made symbolic gestures of goodwill on his first day. He laid a wreath at the National Cemetery in Dongjak-dong, paying respect to Korea's independence fighters and the dead of the 1950-1953 Korean War. After checking into his hotel, which remains unidentified, he visited the Convention and Exhibition Hall in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul. When he met South Korean youths, he said, "Annyeong haseyo," - (hello) - in Korean.

At the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts, Mr. Koizumi listened to Japanese students in Seoul studying Korean court music. He received a set of bamboo flutes from the center's head. He finished his first day in Seoul with Japanese compatriots, having galbi (Korean ribs) in Gangnam, southern Seoul.

Before leaving from Japan's Haneda Airport, Mr. Koizumi described his visit as a forward step for relations between Seoul and Tokyo. He stressed that he wants to expand ties with South Korea that will not end when the World Cup games end on June 30.

Mr. Koizumi leaves for Japan on Saturday after visiting Gyeongju, the old capital of the Silla dynasty.

by Chun Young-gi