S.Korean Unification Minister to Visit US This Week

South Korean Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik will visit the United States later this week to share his views on inter-Korean relations and North Korea''s nuclear weapons programs.
Yu took office last month on a pledge to exercise flexibility toward the provocative northern neighbor, signaling a shift from the tense inter-Korean relations that followed the North''s two apparent attacks against the South last year, South Korean News Agency (Yonhap) reported Monday. As Seoul''s point man on Pyongyang, Yu will visit Washington and New York for six days starting on Wednesday, during which he plans to meet with officials from the US government and Congress, the ministry said. He is expected to explain his vision for North Korea policy and discuss issues related to the Korean Peninsula. Yu''s visit comes shortly after the US and North Korea completed two rounds of high-level talks on ways to resume the stalled six-party talks on ending the North''s nuclear weapons programs. No major breakthroughs were reported, but Yu''s visit is widely expected to spur further coordination between Seoul and Washington on their joint stance toward Pyongyang. On Saturday, Yu is scheduled to meet with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss humanitarian and other issues related to North Korea and the Korean Peninsula, the ministry said.
Source: BNA