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Kim takes tough trip
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SOUTH Korean President Kim Dae-jung left Seoul yesterday afternoon for a five-day visit to the United States in a bid to get assured support of the new US administration for his policy toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
During his visit, Kim is believed to persuade US President George W Bush to continue Clinton's a reconciliatory approach toward the DPRK in tandem with Seoul's DPRK engagement policy.
The South Korea-US summit, scheduled for today at the White House, will be the first since Bush took office.
With the Republican takeover of US Government, however, negotiations with Pyongyang, including those on the DPRK's missile issues, have come to a halt, with speculation arising that Bush will take a hardline stance on Pyongyang as some Bush aides publicly referred to DPRK leader Kim Jong Il as a "dictator", calling for strict "reciprocity" in negotiations with Pyongyang and a clear-cut end to its missile and nuclear development programmes.
Observers speculate that South Korea might have to make a commitment during the summit to the purchase of US weapons worth nearly US$10 billion in return for Washington's continued support for its "sunshine" policy.
All these indicate that Kim's US trip will be a hard job focusing on "a careful co-ordination" between the two allies, particularly in view of DPRK leader Kim Jong-il's visit to Seoul in the first half of this year, which Seoul described as a "great chance" for the establishment of peace mechanism on the Korean peninsula. (Xinhua)
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