S. Korea, Brazil Agree on Joint Study for Free Trade Accord


By Shim Jae-yun
Korea Times Correspondent


BRASILIA - President Roh Moo-hyun on Tuesday stressed North Korea will give up its nuclear weapons program if it is provided with enough compensation.

He rebuffed the claim that the North has deliberately delayed the nuclear talks to buy time for nuclear development.

``We do not agree with the assertion of some hard-liners that the North is showing no intention of resuming the nuclear negotiations, seeking only to protract the dialogue,’’ Roh said during an interview with Portuguese-language newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo.

He urged North Korea to come to the six-party dialogue table. ``Trust among the relevant parties is the most important thing in negotiations. Utilizing dialogue itself as tool for negotiations will not help build trust, a fact which North Korea should bear in mind,’’ he said.

Roh’s statement came amid simmering controversy over his earlier remark that the United States should understand North Korea’s stance over the nuclear issue and accept it as dialogue partner, while opposing hard-line policies that would lead to a catastrophic situation on the Korean peninsula.

Roh played down the alleged anti-American sentiment in South Korea, saying it has not yet developed into anti-Americanism.

``It is not anti-Americanism as a sort of ideology. Rather it is an expression of opinion with regard to a certain issue with the hope of seeing healthy relations between the two nations,’’ he said.

Roh, who arrived here Tuesday, held a summit meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula on issues of mutual interest, including the lingering impasse over North Korea’s nuclear program.

The two heads of state agreed to promote bilateral relations toward the development of more comprehensive ties in the 21st century.

They agreed on the need to conduct research on the feasibility of the establishment of a free trade agreement between South Korea and the Mercosur, a common market comprising four Latin American nations.

``Brazil expressed support for Korea’s bid to enter the Inter-American Development Bank as a full extra-regional member,’’ presidential secretary on foreign policy Chung Woo-sung said in a media briefing.

They also encouraged Korean companies to actively participate in Brazil’s Public and Private Projects, which include areas such as oil exploration, energy, highways, railways and port facilities.

Roh and Lula expressed their satisfaction on the signing of the ministerial memorandum of understanding on energy and mineral resources between the two nations, which establishes a constructive mechanism of cooperation in these fields.

As part of efforts to speed up bilateral relations in the field of information and technology, the two nations agreed to set up an IT cooperation center in Brazil soon.

Touching upon the North Korean nuclear issue, the two leaders share the view that the standoff should be resolved peacefully through dialogue, and that in this context the six-party talks should be resumed as soon as possible.