Poland widens embrace of S. Korean firms: minister

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Monday his country wants to bring its two-decade-long political and economic ties with South Korea to a "new stage," taking advantage of similarities between the two nations.

He pointed out that both Poland and South Korea are "sandwiched between far more
powerful neighbors and not particularly rich in natural resources."
"We both live by trade and by our brains. I think that creates opportunities for
mutual understanding but also for economic development," the minister said in an
interview with Yonhap News Agency.
Sikorski arrived here on Sunday for a three-day stay, becoming the highest-level
Polish official to visit South Korea since the formation of a new government in
Poland a year ago and the inauguration of a new president in South Korea early
this year.
"We are friendly countries with important political and commercial
relationships," he said.
Poland is South Korea's largest trading partner in Eastern Europe, serving as a
bridgehead for South Korean firms to make inroads into bigger markets in the
region. Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the two
countries' diplomatic relations.
Sikorski said Poland, a member of the European Union, has rolled out the red
carpet for South Korean companies. Poland's economy is growing at a faster rate
than the rest of Europe's economies and has stable finances not exposed to the
latest crisis from Wall Street, he said.
"We believe that we are a promising and major production center for both Japanese
and Korean companies," he said. "We also hope that our collaboration will reach a
new stage."
Poland will co-host the 2012 Euro Cup football finals with Ukraine, providing
further opportunities for South Korean contractors to help build roads and
stadiums there.
"We are very pleased with the investment so far and we encourage Korean companies
to go further," he said.
The minister, a former war correspondent and defense minister, said Warsaw stands
ready to help South and North Korea coexist peacefully, although it does not
aspire to be a major player in the process.
He visited Pyongyang in 2002 to discuss humanitarian assistance while serving as
deputy foreign minister for Asian affairs.
"We maintain political contacts with North Korea. There is some limited economic
activity. So, Poland has the ability to talk to both sides," he said. "We hope to
be part of the solution to the problems on the Korean Peninsula. We have been
involved in the issues for a long time."
Sikorski cited Poland's role in maintaining the armistice that ended the 1950-53
Korean War as a member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC), one
of two key mechanisms of the United Nations Command (UNC) along with the UNC
Military Armistice Commission.
The NNSC was originally composed of UNC-designated Sweden and Switzerland and
North Korea-appointed Poland and Czechoslovakia, which were expelled by Pyongyang
from its side of the truce village of Panmunjom in the early 1990s. A Polish army
general has, however, visited South Korea periodically to attend the NNSC
meetings still held in Panmunjom.
Sikorski parried a sensitive question about North Korean Ambassador to Poland Kim
Pyong-il, a half-brother to the communist nation's all-powerful leader Kim
Jong-il. "I have met him. He looks like his father," he said.