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Hillary Clinton | U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to assure Seoul of Washington's commitment to a coordinated approach toward North Korea during her two-day trip to South Korea that begins later Thursday as Pyongyang escalates tensions with missile threat and bellicose statements.
In her first visit to Seoul as the top U.S. diplomat, Clinton is also likely to outline her vision for the Seoul-Washington alliance and discuss some global concerns including climate change and the reconstruction of Afghanistan, Yonhap News reported. She traveled to South Korea in 1993 and 1996 as first lady.
Clinton will arrive at Seoul Airport at 10:45 p.m. from Indonesia, accompanied by President Barack Obama's senior Asia policy official at the National Security Council, Jeffrey Bader, climate change envoy Todd Stern, and Christopher Hill, the outgoing top U.S. negotiator on North Korea, according to her itinerary released by South Korean and U.S. embassy officials. "Secretary of State Clinton has no schedule for any official event today," a foreign ministry official said.
She will kick off her official activity here Friday morning with a visit to the U.S. military command in Seoul.
Clinton will hold one-hour talks with Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on a wide range of alliance issues, security concerns and other global challenges, said the ministry official.
"Since it is their first (foreign ministerial) talks, they will have broad discussions on the development of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, the North Korean nuclear issue, North Korea's recent threats, the global financial crisis, the climate change, a plan for a bilateral summit, and other issues of mutual concern," he said.
Clinton is expected to make clear that her government will deal with the North Korean nuclear and missile issues in close consultation with South Korea and that Washington does not recognize Pyongyang as a nuclear weapon state.
In response, the South Korean minister will brief her on Seoul's plan to expand its contributions to Afghanistan and play a greater role in other global agendas.
Yu and Clinton plan to have a joint press conference after their talks.
The secretary will then pay a courtesy call on President Lee Myung-bak, who arranged a one-hour luncheon meeting with her, unusual protocol for a foreign guest who is not a head of state.
Lee's aides said the president took into account Clinton's status as a former first lady.
Clinton is also set for a brief bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, who served as Seoul's ambassador to Washington in the Bill Clinton administration, with the climate issue and the world's economic woes high on agenda.
The secretary is to meet a group of female students and leaders from various walks of life to show her support for women's empowerment before flying to China Friday night, the fourth and last leg of her eight-day regional tour.
Her trip comes amid reports that North Korea is readying for a ballistic missile launch from a base on its east coast, along with the North's repeated verbal threats warning an "all-out confrontational posture" against the conservative South Korean government. |
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