AP - South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun shrugged off worries about the health of his country's five-decade alliance with the United States ahead of talks Thursday with President Bush.
WASHINGTON - South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun shrugged off worries about the health of his country's five-decade alliance with the United States ahead of talks Thursday with President Bush.
Roh's low-key trip to Washington comes as many wonder whether differences over how to lure North Korea back to stalled negotiations aimed at persuading Pyongyang to scrap its self-proclaimed nuclear bomb production program reflect cracks in an alliance forged during the Korean War.
Roh acknowledged Wednesday that people in both countries "are quite concerned about the current state of relations between Korea and the United States."
But while the U.S.-South Korean alliance is changing, Roh said, "The very fundamental basis of this alliance will not change."
"In all areas where the United States has been fighting to establish order and freedom, Korea has always been at the United States' side," Roh said through an interpreter during a meeting with business leaders at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Since North Korea began boycotting the disarmament talks in November, the reclusive country has sparked fears around the world as reports circulate that it may be preparing for a nuclear bomb test. North Korea also defied international warnings and test-launched seven missiles in July.
Some observers believe that mixed messages from Washington and Seoul on how to solve the crisis have allowed North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to augment his nuclear arsenal as his country falls into deeper isolation.
The Bush administration favors a hard-line approach, refusing to talk to the North outside of six-nation talks. Roh has tried to engage Kim's communist government.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Wednesday that Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. envoy at the nuclear talks, would "be willing to have as many meetings as the North Koreans could take, in the context of the six-party talks, if they would only come back to those talks."
Referring to the United States' negotiating partners on the North Korean issue - Japan, Russia, China and South Korea - White House spokesman Tony Snow said it "remains the proper approach to say to those in the neighborhood, `You're closest; you have the most influence; you need to step up'" efforts to restart the talks.
Besides North Korea, Roh and Bush also will discuss an ambitious U.S.-South Korean free trade proposal and Seoul's desire to retake wartime command of its troops from the United States.
If successful, the trade accord would be the biggest for the United States since 1993. Roh, however, faces intense pressure from South Korean farm and labor groups who say the agreement would cost jobs.
09-14-2006, 08:56 AM
