President Lee (right) and President Obama at Cheong Wa Dae on Nov. 19.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama agreed at a bilateral summit held in Seoul on Nov. 19 to join forces and push the 'grand bargain' strategy in dealing with North Korea.
President Lee initiated the 'grand bargain' strategy during his visit to New York in September, prior to his attendance at the third G20 summit held in Pittsburgh.
Different from the 'package deal' -- South Korea's traditional one-sided form of assistance to the North -- the 'grand bargain' is more about give and take between the two, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Once North Korea dismantles its nuclear program in a verifiable manner, South Korea will guarantee security and economic assistance to the country in a concrete way, the presidential office explains.
"U.S. President Obama and I expressed satisfaction over the fact that South Korea and the U.S. are maintaining closer coordination than at any other time in dealing with North Korea and its nuclear programs. We have reconfirmed our unwavering commitment to a complete and verifiable dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear programs through the Six-Party Talks," President Lee said at a joint press conference with the U.S. President following their summit.
President Lee also expressed his desire for North Korea to accept the 'grand bargain' proposal to ensure its security and to help improve the living standards of the North Korean people.
The two leaders reaffirmed the solid Korea-U.S. security readiness and concurred on the need to substantially implement the Joint Vision for the Alliance adopted at the June Korea-U.S. summit, according to Lee. The foreign ministers of the two countries will meet next year, the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, to discuss concrete plans to foster the Korea-U.S. alliance, Lee added.
The leaders highly praised the results of the G20 Summit held in Pittsburgh and promised to work together for the success of the G20 Summit slated for November 2010 in Korea. They also agreed to respond jointly to such international issues as climate change, green growth, nuclear nonproliferation and counter-terrorism efforts.
Reiterating the economic and strategic significance of the Korea-U.S. FTA, the two presidents agreed to work together to expedite the ratification progress of the agreement.
The U.S. President who arrived in Seoul on Wednesday (Nov. 18) is scheduled to return home after a luncheon with President Lee and a meeting with U.S. soldiers stationed in Korea.
By James Ro
Korea.net Staff Writer
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