Roh Arrives for Summit Talks in Kazakhstan

President Roh Moo-hyun and First Lady Kwon Yang-sook started their official visit to Kazakhstan on Sunday.

President Roh left for Kazakhstan on Sunday morning aboard a special flight and arrived in its capital, Astana, on Sunday afternoon. A summit talk between Roh and Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev is scheduled for September 20.

The two summits will discuss improving bilateral relations on the resource and energy industry, namely, the joint development of the Caspian Sea oil fields and uranium mines, and issue a joint statement.

In this summit talk, the two countries are to sign an agreement on issues of the peaceful utilization of nuclear energy, aerial transportation, and information technology.

This is the first visit to Kazakhstan by a South Korean president since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992. Roh will finish his trip to Kazakhstan on Monday afternoon and head to the next destination, Russia.

Jung-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com