Bush to Visit S. Korea on Aug. 5

U.S. President George W. Bush will visit South Korea on August 5th.

The White House announced Tuesday that Bush will visit Korea for two days before heading to Beijing for the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

The White House added that Bush and President Lee Myung-bak are scheduled to meet Wednesday on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan. Their meeting is expected to lay the groundwork for Bush’s planned visit to South Korea.

Bush’s trip would reciprocate the visit President Lee made to Washington in April. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was in Seoul over the weekend, reportedly fine-tuned the details of Bush’s planned visit during her stay in Korea.

The August meeting would mark the third time for the two presidents to meet. It would make Bush and Lee the two leaders of their respective nations to meet most often during the shortest period of time.

When they meet in August, Bush and Lee are likely to focus discussions on ways to implement measures to promote their strategic alliance. Such measures would include the swift ratification of the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and efforts to keep U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula.

Meanwhile, the presidential office in Seoul said the two countries are coordinating details on Bush’s visit and that a final date of his trip has yet to be confirmed.

Source

~ by johnnytalkback on July 2, 2008.