Text Fwd: Hillary Clinton to confirm visit to S.Korea prior to release of Cheonan report

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Hillary Clinton to confirm visit to S.Korea prior to release of Cheonan report
: Observers say Clinton’s visit will strengthen S.Korea’s announcement of the investigation team’s findings on the Cheonan
Posted on : May.15,2010 16:17 KST

The U.S. has been making concrete response plans prior to the announcement of the results of the Cheonan investigation.


It was reported Thursday (local time) that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is close to confirming her decision to visit South Korea around the time of strategic and economic talks with China scheduled for May 24 and 25. A diplomatic source in Washington said Clinton’s visit to Korea has been effectively decided upon, and all that remains is for both sides to discuss a concrete schedule. Clinton will reportedly visit South Korea around May 25, after the talks with China. Clinton is expected to reveal joint South Korea-U.S. plans regarding response measures to be taken concerning the sinking of the Cheonan. It appears Clinton’s visit is to lend strength to the South Korea’s government’s announcement of the Cheonan findings.



The U.S. government, through U.S. experts participating on the joint civilian-military investigation team looking into the Cheonan sinking, has been following the progress of the investigation. There are many who feel that its opinion does not differ greatly from that of the South Korean government, which strongly suspects the ship was sunk by North Korea. The U.S. has reportedly been considering referring the matter to the UN Security Council if it announced that the Cheonan was sunk by North Korea.



The U.S. Senate resolution tabled Thursday by both Democrat and Republican senators, North Korea is not named, but its call for strict compliance with UN Security Council resolutions 1695, 1718 and 1874, which placed sanctions on North Korea, appears to have been drafted because of this view. The Senate resolution calls the cause of the sinking an external explosion, offers condolences to the people of South Korea and stresses the importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance. Senator Joe Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, submitted the resolution with signatures from Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona. The resolution will reportedly be adopted unanimously next week.

During South Korea-U.S. “2 plus 2” talks to be attended by vice foreign and defense ministers in Washington on Friday (local time), the two sides are expected to fine-tune their views on responses to the Cheonan sinking. Attending the meeting from South Korea will be Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Yong-joon and Deputy Defense Minister for Policy Chang Kwang-il, while attending from the U.S. will be Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs Wallace Gregson.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]