S. Korea leader links future of pipeline from Russia with six-party talks success
WASHINGTON. Oct 14 (Interfax) - The political conditions needed to implement a project to build a gas pipeline from Russia to South Korea have not been put in place yet, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said at a joint press conference with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama in the White House on Thursday.
A lot of time will pass, and a whole range of economic and political issues will have to be resolved, including the need to ensure the success of the six-party talks on North Korea, before the right time comes to build this gas pipeline, the South Korean leader said.
He described the prospect for launching the Russia-South Korea gas pipeline project as far-off.
This project cannot be implemented promptly and in the near future, he said.
Commenting on the project's political aspects, Lee said that South Korea would take account of the progress being made in North Korea's nuclear issue.
Plans to export Russian gas to South Korea have been discussed in the Far East for a long time, he said.
Seoul and North Korean officials are discussing today whether or not Russian gas could reach South Korea via North Korea, the president said.
This is profitable, primarily for Russia, because Russians will get another opportunity to sell their natural resources, he said.
But the project will also benefit North Korea, allowing it to use these natural resources, the South Korean president said.
South Korea, North Korea and Russia have not yet met to discuss this issue in detail, although this project will benefit all of the sides involved from an economic standpoint, he said.
The South Korean president, however, said that, as far as he understands, this issue is not purely economic, but involves security aspects as well.