Foreign ministry officials nonplussed over former S Korean president's `visit'

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it could not confirm media reports that former South Korean president Kim Young-sam will visit Taipei as a "presidential envoy," but encouraged Kim to come anyway.

Following the ministry's announcement that Taipei and Seoul had signed an agreement resuming air transportation between the countries on Wednesday, a Chinese-language newspaper reported that Kim, who visited Taipei in 2001, plans to travel here again.

"The ministry cannot comment on the report. Boosting substantial ties with non-allies and promoting mutual visits by non-allies' top political figures and Taiwan's leaders are key areas of the ministry's work," ministry spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) said.

"The Republic of China will be very happy to see Kim visit Taipei," he said.

The newspaper report said Kim's plan indicated that Seoul was sincere in its desire to resume air transportation between South Korea and Taiwan.

"The visit will be the best footnote for transforming Seoul-Taipei ties," it added.

"For President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) government, Kim's second visit will be a significant step in the growing Seoul-Taipei relationship. It also marks a big step in Taiwan's diplomatic progress in Northeast Asia," the report said.

An official at the Korean Mission in Taipei, however, said the mission did not understand how the report could have appeared.

"We don't have any information about the visit. We don't know about his [Kim's] plan," the official said.

The mission was "surprised" to see the report, the official said.

"We cannot confirm the report. We don't know whether he will come here or not," he added.

"He can actually come here without contacting our mission ... If he does have a plan [to visit Taipei] at the moment, he doesn't need to tell us about it," the official said.

Kim, who was invited by the Presidential Office to visit Taipei in July 2001, is the highest-ranking South Korean politician to have visited Taiwan since the countries cut diplomatic ties in 1992.

Kim is the second South Korean president to visit the nation. Park Chung-hee visited Taiwan in 1963 as president of South Korea.

During Kim's five-day visit in 2001, he met with Chen four times, a rare arrangement for political figures visiting Taipei.

Chen told Kim at that time that Taiwan looked forward to seeing the resumption of air transportation between Taipei and Seoul. He also said "national dignity, substantial benefit and mutual interest" were the three guidelines the Taiwan side would adhere to in negotiating an air-transportation agreement with South Korea.

Kim held a low-key press conference upon his departure and said he hoped that Taiwan's dispute with China could be solved through peaceful means.

"I hope the economic losses incurred by the end of air transportation between the two countries can be addressed too," he was quoted as saying.