18 May 2006
Seoul cautious about Dalai Lama’s visa application
(Yonhap) The South Korean government has confirmed that the Dalai Lama applied for a visa to enter the country, but refused to clarify its position on the much sought-after visit by the Tibetan spiritual leader. "We will have to consider both the big framework of South Korea-China relations and the aspirations of cultural and religious circles here", Foreign Ministry official Lee Gwang-shik said. He said the Dalai Lama applied for the visa recently through the country's embassy in India at the invitation of local religious groups. The Dalai Lama has sought to visit South Korea since the early 1990s, but Seoul has not allowed it, apparently fearful of a negative impact on its ties with Beijing.