hankyoreh

South Korea's envoy for the incoming president, Lee Myung-bak, met U.S. President George W.

Bush on Tuesday and discussed the bilateral alliance and the North Korean nuclear issue, South Korean officials said.

Bush dropped by when Chung Mong-joon, head of the delegation from Seoul, was meeting Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser, officials said. Chung is scheduled also to meet Vice President Dick Cheney later in the day.

Chung came to Washington on Monday as a special envoy sent by South Korea's president-elect. Lee takes office on Feb. 25.

President Bush stayed for about 20 minutes, also talking about ratification of the free trade agreement (FTA), officials said.

"They agreed that it was important to bolster the alliance, and that President-elect Lee visit the United States at an early time," one official said.

"They also agreed the two governments should make joint efforts for legislative approval of the FTA as soon as possible," he said.

The envoy came with Lee's letter expressing hopes to strengthen the Seoul-Washington alliance, challenged over the past few years by protracted negotiations aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons and realignment of the military alliance.

"There were instances in our relations where unnecessary misunderstanding arose because we neglected prior consultation," Chung told reporters as he came out of an earlier meeting with Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte.

"We talked about avoiding such misunderstanding through exchange of views and discussions on important issues," Chung said.

Gonzalo Gallegos, a State Department spokesman, said Negroponte "underlined the value the United States places in its relations" with South Korea.

"Special envoy Chung conveyed the serious personal commitment of President-elect Lee Myung-bak to strengthen these relations," according to the spokesman.

The envoy affirmed that the new government will continue to closely consult with the U.S., and Negroponte reiterated Washington's commitment to the six-nation talks aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, Gallegos said.

Chung and his delegation are scheduled to meet Korea experts and a number of senior congressional members wielding influence on the FTA vote, including Sen. Max Baucus and Rep. Charles Rangel.

They also meet Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Wednesday before traveling to New York on Thursday.



WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (Yonhap)