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| ▲ Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, leader of the ruling People Power Party, is seen answering questions from reporters at a meeting held in the southeastern port city of Ulsan on July 5, 2023. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) PPP leader-US visit
(LEAD) PPP leader embarks on U.S. trip to discuss strengthening alliance
(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead, photo; ADDS comments from Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon in para 3)
SEOUL, July 10 (Yonhap) -- The leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) departed for Washington on Monday for meetings with senior U.S. government officials and congressional leaders to discuss ways to strengthen the alliance between the two countries, his party said.
Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon will lead a delegation of party members on the seven-day trip that also includes stops in New York and Los Angeles. Other lawmakers traveling together with Kim include Reps. Lee Chul-gyu, Kim Seok-ki, Yoo Sang-bum, Kang Min-kuk and Ku Ja-keun.
"As President Yoon Suk Yeol was able to further strengthen the South Korea-U.S. relations in his recent visit to the U.S., we plan to build on that achievement, so that the relationship between the two countries can develop into an alliance of national security, economy and free democracy," Kim told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul.
Upon arrival in Washington on Monday, Kim is scheduled to visit the Korean War Veterans Memorial and hold a meeting with Koreans residing in the U.S.
The following day, he plans to meet National Security Council Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, State Department officials and members of Congress, as well as experts from U.S. think tanks, according to the party.
Topics for the meetings will be about strengthening the alliance on its 70th anniversary, including measures to follow up on the Washington Declaration that President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden adopted at their summit in April.
On Wednesday, the PPP delegation will also visit the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in D.C. and hold talks with South Korean businesspeople before heading to New York.
In New York, the delegation will visit the U.N. headquarters and meet the U.N. Security Council president. They are also scheduled to hold talks with South Korean businesspeople, officials from U.S. think tanks, as well as Koreans residing in New York.
They will wind up the trip in Los Angeles, with a policy meeting with Koreans in the city.
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