[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
[November 24, 1996]
[Page 2148]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With President
Kim Yong-sam of South Korea in Manila, Philippines
November 24, 1996

    President Clinton. Hello, Mr. President.
    President Kim. Congratulations on your victory. I was assured of 
your victory much in advance. [Laughter]
    President Clinton. You knew about it before I did, then.

Japan-U.S. Trade

    Q. Mr. President, did your meeting with Prime Minister Hashimoto 
produce any expectation of reducing the trade imbalance?
    President Clinton. We've made a lot of progress in the last 4 years. 
And we spent a lot of time on trade in that meeting, and he reaffirmed 
his willingness to resolve the remaining disputes between us. But if the 
economy keeps growing in Japan, that should help us reduce the trade 
imbalance.

Korean Peace Process

    Q. Mr. President, are you optimistic that perhaps the four-way talks 
that were proposed can actually get underway?
    President Clinton. Well, we're going to talk about that.
    Q. But didn't you talk about it in your meeting with the Chinese 
leader?
    President Clinton. Absolutely, I did.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 3:19 p.m. at the Central Bank. In his 
remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan and 
President Jiang Zemin of China.