President Kim Attends APEC, U.S., Russia, China Meeting Today

President Kim arrived in Shanghai on October 18 to attend the 19th APEC summit conference. He met individually with U.S. President George W. Bush, Chinese President Jiang Zhemin, and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the 19th and discussed anti-terrorism policy and issues around the Korean peninsula.

President Kim will meet Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro on the 20th and eight other nations including four countries around the Korean peninsula.

President Kim is expected to announce full support and cooperation with the U.S. in the War on Terrorism during the South Korea-U.S. meeting. President Bush is expected to confirm the South Korea-U.S. alliance and underscore the importance of stability in the Korean peninsula.

The main agenda in this year`s APEC summit conference is projected to be the liberalization of trade within the region and the acceptance of the anti-terrorism declaration.

President Kim left with First Lady Lee Hui-Ho on the 18th and said, ``We will fully participate in the discussions on international cooperation for preventing terrorism, and emphasize the need for economic improvement by stimulating the domestic market as the international economy continues to decline.``

Yun Seung-Mo ysmo@donga.com