US President George W. Bush will make an official visit to South Korea from February 19 to the 21st. The three-day trip comes at the invitation of President Kim Dae-jung, according to top foreign policy adviser, Chung Tae-ik, Saturday. Chung said the two leaders are slated to hold summit talks on February 20 to discuss inter-Korean and North Korea-US ties, as well as joint efforts against terrorism ahead of this year's FIFA World Cup Finals.

Setting off on an East Asian tour on February 16, President Bush will have talks with Japanese, Korean and Chinese state heads consecutively, visiting Tokyo on February 18 and 19, Seoul from 19th to the 21st and in Beijing on the 21st and 22nd. The White House said that the US president would discuss cooperation in anti- terrorism war, measures to revive slumped economy and strengthening of regional alliances in the three summit meetings in addition to concerns on current affairs.

President Kim Dae-jung and Bush will confirm the alliance between the two countries, as well as fine-tuning of South-North and North-US relationships. Analysts forecast the possibility of a resumption in talks depending on Pyongyang's reaction.

Prior to the summit meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Han Seung-soo and US Secretary of State Colin Powell will meet in Washington, while a Meeting of the ROK-U.S.-Japan Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group (TCOG) is scheduled later this month.

(From Washington, Ju Yong-joon, midway@chosun.com )