Bush's special envoy cancels trip to Seoul: Official

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 26, 2003

Bush's special envoy cancels trip to Seoul: Official

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US President George W. Bush's special envoy, James Baker, has canceled his plan to visit Seoul after South Korea showed reluctance to cut debt owed to it by Iraq,an official of the South Korean presidential office said on Friday.

"Baker decided not to visit Seoul because of our government's position not to reduce debt on 65 million US dollars in loans to Iraq," the official, requesting anonymity, was quoted by South Korean Yonhap News Agency as saying.

Baker was originally scheduled to fly to Seoul next Monday after visiting Japan. His Asian trip, which will also include a stop in Beijing, is aimed at persuading those countries to reduce billions of dollars in debts owed by the war-torn country.

Besides the 65 million dollars in government loans, South Korean firms, including Hyundai Construction and Engineering Co., have about 1.7 billion dollars in outstanding bills on construction work done there.

Moreover, South Korea will spend an estimated 200 million dollars over its promised additional 3,000 troops deployment in Iraq. "Now is not an opportune time for us to discuss the rescheduling of the Iraqi debt because we are assuming the expenses of our troop dispatch to Iraq," South Korean national security adviser Ra Jong-yil said in a radio interview.

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