Lee, Putin agree to cooperate on N.K. nukes, gas pipeline

VLADIVOSTOK (Yonhap News) ― South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed Saturday to work closely together to resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff and continue cooperation on a project to build a gas pipeline stretching from Russia across both Koreas, an official said.

Lee and Putin reached the agreement during a one-on-one summit held in this Far Eastern Russian city on the sidelines of an annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum set to open later in the day, presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha said.

It was Lee’s first face-to-face meeting with Putin since the Russian leader took office in May.

“I anticipate South Korea and Russia will cooperate closely in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue,” Lee said during the summit, stressing that ending the regional security headache is vital for the gas pipeline and other joint projects, according to Park.

“There will come a time when North Korea has to make up its mind (on the nuclear issue), and I believe its resolution can come earlier if we cooperate multilaterally from now. Therefore we need to make joint efforts,” Lee was quoted as saying.

Putin agreed, saying Russia has great interest in stability on the Korean Peninsula, Park said.

Russia is a member of the long-stalled six-party talks on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs. The country is also one of the five veto-holding permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

The gas pipeline project is aimed at bringing Siberian natural gas to South Korea. The project has been discussed for about 20 years, but never materialized due in part to security tensions. It gained momentum last year after the then North’s leader, Kim Jong-il, expressed his willingness to permit the envisioned pipeline to go through.

The sides also agreed to launch negotiations on visa waiver and social security treaties to help boost economic and other exchanges between the two countries, Park said. They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fisheries and defense sectors, he said.

Lee invited Putin to visit South Korea, and the Russian leader said he would do so at an appropriate time, Park said.

At the start of the meeting, Lee expressed hopes for greater economic and other cooperation.

“Economic relations between the two countries have moved forward smoothly. Though the global economy is in a difficult situation, I hope the two countries will further develop cooperation in the economic sector,” Lee said.

Putin said South Korea is Russia’s third-largest trading partner in Asia after China and Japan, with trade volume rising two-fold to US$25 billion last year from a year earlier. But there is much room for further cooperation as mutual investment in each other is insufficient, Putin said.

“Relations between the two countries have been moving forward in various areas, especially in auto, energy, transportation and fisheries,” he said. “We are trying to promote cooperation in political dialogue as well. Prospects for the development of bilateral relations are good.”

APEC was formed in 1989 in response to growing regionalism in other parts of the globe. Its 21 member economies account for about 40 percent of the world’s population, 56 percent of global gross domestic product and 46 percent of world trade.

Since 1993, the heads of state from member economies have met annually, and the forum has also provided opportunities for bilateral summits among leaders on its sidelines.

On Sunday, Lee is scheduled to meet bilaterally with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who is attending the summit on behalf of President Barack Obama.

Japan is also an APEC member, but Lee is not expected to meet one-on-one with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda considering the recent spike in tensions over Tokyo’s territorial claims to South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo and other issues stemming from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.

During Saturday’s opening session of the APEC forum, Lee and Noda shook hands with smiles on their faces, and talked briefly to each other, though the exchange is believed to be no more than routine greeting.

A summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao has not been scheduled since Lee and Hu have already met many times this year, officials said.

“Bilateral meetings either with Prime Minister Noda or President Hu are not planned,” a presidential official said, adding that he has no idea whether there could be informal “pull-aside” meetings.

Should Japan propose a bilateral meeting, South Korea would consider the offer, but there has been no proposal for a summit or a foreign ministers’ meeting, the official said, adding that a summit with Noda is unlikely.