Kim mulls U.S. visit in March

President Kim Dae-Jung said Monday that he was considering to visit the United States next March to hold a summit with U.S. president-elect George W. Bush and discuss joint Korea-U.S. policy toward North Korea. Bush will take office in January.

President Kim made the remarks in an interview with Yonhap New Agency at Chong Wa Dae on the occasion of the agency's second anniversary. Noting that he feels a heavy burden to meet the people's expectations for reform of state affairs, Kim stressed that he would unveil comprehensive restructuring plans in early January.

In this connection, a high-ranking Chong Wa Dae official said President Kim would announce his blueprint for administrative reform in his New Year message or in a press conference early next year.

Asked about the timing and scale of projected reshuffles in the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), Chong Wa Dae and the cabinet, Kim said he would conduct a shakeup of the MDP within the year, suggesting that shakeups at the presidential office and among top government officials would follow early next year.

Saying much of the pain of structural reforms would come to an end by next February, Kim warned that if the nation cannot ride out the ordeal, it could undergo what he called IMF 3rd-year syndrome.