S. Korea, U.S. remove last hurdle to visa waiver implementation: minister By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States Wednesday agreed to exchange information on suspected criminals, clearing the last hurdle to implementation of a visa waiver program that allows their citizens visa-free visits to each country for up to 90 days.

"I met with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff today and virtually
concluded talks on details on implementation of the Visa Waiver Program by the
end of the year," South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told reporters.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President George W. Bush agreed in
April to implement the VWP by the end of the year to help ease the long lines in
front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul to get U.S. entry visas.
Yu said he and Chertoff concluded detailed procedures on providing criminal
records of a limited number of suspects so immigration authorities of the two
sides could access such information automatically at airports.
The minister said the automatic inquiry system does not provide detailed criminal
records but would confirm in the form of yes or no if someone has been involved
in a certain type of crime.
"Only a handful number of people are subjected to the system, and also the system
is reciprocal," he said, adding that a certain number of Americans are also
affected.
The U.S. wants to introduce such a crime inquiry system with 27 other countries
with which Washington maintains VWPs, according to Yu.
The minister said he came to Washington to put a final touch on the VWP after
working-level talks recently hit a snag over the exchange of criminal record
information.