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U.S. President Barack Obama will be visiting Seoul in a few weeks time, following diplomatic
efforts by South Korea to be added to the itinerary.
Ji Myung-kil has the details. U.S. President Barack Obama has added South
Korea to the itinerary for his upcoming trip to Asia.
The White House confirmed on Wednesday that the Asia trip is part of Obama's ongoing commitment
to increase U.S. diplomatic, economic and security engagement with countries in the
Asia-Pacific region. Although no dates have been released yet,
it's reported the president will visit Tokyo first from April 22nd to 23rd, then Seoul
from the 23rd to the 24th. During his stay in Seoul,... the U.S. president
plans to meet with President Park Geun-hye, where they are expected to reaffirm the two
sides' alliance, review the security situation on the peninsula and discuss the Korea-U.S.
free
trade deal. Now that Seoul is on the itinerary,... speculation
is rising as to whether President Obama will address the prickly relations between Seoul
and Tokyo. A number of disputes over history and territory
have chilled relations between the two,... especially after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe visited a shrine honoring convicted war criminals in December.
Obama may, however, choose to stay away from arbitrating the complex historical problems
and territorial disputes between the two. North Korea's nuclear program will top the
agenda when Park and Obama meet, along with the timing of the transfer of wartime operational
control of U.S. forces in South Korea from the U.S. to South Korea.
The transfer date was originally slated for next year, but South Korea has been pushing
for a delay. April will also be a critical time for trade
negotiations. Obama is expected to try to push to tie the
Korea-U.S. free trade agreement to the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade pact that includes
12 nations, as Korean participation in the partnership could further cement a future
trading
order in Asia that would include North America. Ji Myung-kil, Arirang News.