ID :
22161
Wed, 10/01/2008 - 17:48
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/22161
The shortlink copeid
(News Focus) Lee concludes summit diplomacy with four superpowers
SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak wound up his three-day official visit to Russia on Tuesday, capping off his summit diplomacy with all four superpowers surrounding the Korean Peninsula.
Lee, who traveled to the U.S., Japan and China in the months after his Feb. 25
inauguration, became the first head of South Korea to visit Russia in his
inaugural year.
Explaining the meaning of his successive summit diplomacy, Lee said to reporters
in Moscow Tuesday, "The U.S., Russia, China and Japan could be among the
superpowers related to Northeast Asia. Our upgraded relations with all four are
actually a very important change."
"Its economic implications are enormous ... In the event of an emergency on the
Korean Peninsula, the upgraded relations with the four would be very beneficial
to us. We have also established steady consultation channels with them."
Following Lee's summit talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow on
Monday, South Korea and Russia upgraded their bilateral relations to a strategic
cooperative partnership and signed a large-scale natural gas supply deal expected
to involve North Korea.
With the agreement, South Korea-Russia ties are now on par with Seoul's relations
with China. A strategic partnership calls for expanding the scope and depth of
exchanges in politics, military, foreign affairs, security and other sensitive
fields.
Lee and Medvedev also issued a joint summit statement and sealed a dozen MOUs
calling for practical bilateral cooperation across the board, including the
fields of politics, diplomacy, security, defense, energy, economy, aerospace and
polar development.
Notably, Lee and Medvedev agreed to work together to send Russian natural gas
through a pipeline to South Korea via North Korea starting in 2015 and link the
inter-Korean railway with the trans-Siberian railway for its eventual connection
to Europe.
Lee also met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday to
reconfirm the landmark summit agreements on the upgraded partnership and closer
cooperation in the development of energy resources and construction of logistics
infrastructures.
Lee attached particular meaning to his government's bid to build a Korea-only
port and logistics complex on Russian soil near the Tumen River, which runs along
its North Korean border.
Mentioning Possyet as a potential site for the port, Lee said the Russian port is
blessed with many advantages, including deep water, and will help South Korea
drastically reduce logistics costs for its cargo bound for Europe.
In a show of South Korea's heightened status in Russia and closer bilateral ties,
Lee additionally met with the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Aleksey
Mikhailovich Ridiger.
Reflecting Lee's closer personal ties with the Russian government's leaders, Lee
received an honorary doctorate from Saint Petersburg State University, the alma
mater of both Medvedev and Putin.
The two-way cooperation is expected to move to higher ground, as Medvedev agreed
to make a reciprocal visit to South Korea in the near future.
In an address given to Russian college students after his doctoral award
ceremony, Lee again stressed the importance of the envisioned Korean-Russian rail
and energy links and other summit agreements.
Korean residents living in Russia and Russia's Korea experts share the view that
Lee's Russian trip may have played an important role in refreshing the image of
South Korea among the Russian people. Russian news organizations also played up
the news of Lee's Russian visit and summit talks with Medvedev.
Lee's summit in Russia was also meaningful, as he and Medvedev agreed to work
together to promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and peace in
Northeast Asia.
Russia's stance on North Korea drew strong interest, as the communist North is
now on the brink of restarting its nuclear weapons program shut down in July last
year under a landmark disarmament deal with South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia
and Japan.
Medvedev said at a joint press conference with Lee that he wishes to see the
continuation of inter-Korean political, economic and humanitarian contacts,
urging the two Koreas to implement their 2007 summit agreements.
The Russian leader then declared that his government has strong interest in the
rail connection between the Korean Peninsula and Russia, indirectly pressuring
North Korea to cooperate in the envisioned tripartite rail and gas pipeline
projects.
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
Lee, who traveled to the U.S., Japan and China in the months after his Feb. 25
inauguration, became the first head of South Korea to visit Russia in his
inaugural year.
Explaining the meaning of his successive summit diplomacy, Lee said to reporters
in Moscow Tuesday, "The U.S., Russia, China and Japan could be among the
superpowers related to Northeast Asia. Our upgraded relations with all four are
actually a very important change."
"Its economic implications are enormous ... In the event of an emergency on the
Korean Peninsula, the upgraded relations with the four would be very beneficial
to us. We have also established steady consultation channels with them."
Following Lee's summit talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow on
Monday, South Korea and Russia upgraded their bilateral relations to a strategic
cooperative partnership and signed a large-scale natural gas supply deal expected
to involve North Korea.
With the agreement, South Korea-Russia ties are now on par with Seoul's relations
with China. A strategic partnership calls for expanding the scope and depth of
exchanges in politics, military, foreign affairs, security and other sensitive
fields.
Lee and Medvedev also issued a joint summit statement and sealed a dozen MOUs
calling for practical bilateral cooperation across the board, including the
fields of politics, diplomacy, security, defense, energy, economy, aerospace and
polar development.
Notably, Lee and Medvedev agreed to work together to send Russian natural gas
through a pipeline to South Korea via North Korea starting in 2015 and link the
inter-Korean railway with the trans-Siberian railway for its eventual connection
to Europe.
Lee also met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday to
reconfirm the landmark summit agreements on the upgraded partnership and closer
cooperation in the development of energy resources and construction of logistics
infrastructures.
Lee attached particular meaning to his government's bid to build a Korea-only
port and logistics complex on Russian soil near the Tumen River, which runs along
its North Korean border.
Mentioning Possyet as a potential site for the port, Lee said the Russian port is
blessed with many advantages, including deep water, and will help South Korea
drastically reduce logistics costs for its cargo bound for Europe.
In a show of South Korea's heightened status in Russia and closer bilateral ties,
Lee additionally met with the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Aleksey
Mikhailovich Ridiger.
Reflecting Lee's closer personal ties with the Russian government's leaders, Lee
received an honorary doctorate from Saint Petersburg State University, the alma
mater of both Medvedev and Putin.
The two-way cooperation is expected to move to higher ground, as Medvedev agreed
to make a reciprocal visit to South Korea in the near future.
In an address given to Russian college students after his doctoral award
ceremony, Lee again stressed the importance of the envisioned Korean-Russian rail
and energy links and other summit agreements.
Korean residents living in Russia and Russia's Korea experts share the view that
Lee's Russian trip may have played an important role in refreshing the image of
South Korea among the Russian people. Russian news organizations also played up
the news of Lee's Russian visit and summit talks with Medvedev.
Lee's summit in Russia was also meaningful, as he and Medvedev agreed to work
together to promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and peace in
Northeast Asia.
Russia's stance on North Korea drew strong interest, as the communist North is
now on the brink of restarting its nuclear weapons program shut down in July last
year under a landmark disarmament deal with South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia
and Japan.
Medvedev said at a joint press conference with Lee that he wishes to see the
continuation of inter-Korean political, economic and humanitarian contacts,
urging the two Koreas to implement their 2007 summit agreements.
The Russian leader then declared that his government has strong interest in the
rail connection between the Korean Peninsula and Russia, indirectly pressuring
North Korea to cooperate in the envisioned tripartite rail and gas pipeline
projects.
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
