N. Korea, U.S. must stem
tide of mutual distrust
The presidential election is finally over! Now the hard part begins. No, I'm not talking about getting North Korea back to the negotiating table; that will come soon enough. Now that Pyongyang knows it has no choice but to deal with the Bush administration, it will find a way to resume the six-party talks. I'm talking about the more important task of repairing damaged U.S.-ROK relations, which have deteriorated significantly during President Bush's first term in office. Many in the Republic of Korea (and elsewhere) were hoping for a quick fix; a "regime change" in Washington. No such luck! It's now up to Washington and Seoul to find ways to repair damaged ties, or at least stop making things worse.
The first steps must come from the top. Presidents Bush and Roh will meet at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders meeting later this month in Santiago, Chile. The two should issue a joint statement reaffirming the centrality of the ROK-U.S. security alliance. They need to express their determination to achieve a peaceful solution to the current North Korea-induced nuclear crisis, jointly calling on Pyongyang to respond positively to the "constructive offer" that Washington previously put on the table.
Most important, both presidents need to ensure that their subordinates reinforce rather than undermine this message. Continued calls by senior ROK officials for Washington to "show more flexibility" are a clear invitation to Pyongyang to stall in hopes of Washington being pressured to further sweeten its offer.
Such actions also raise serious questions in Washington as to Seoul's intentions. Anti-Americanism has long been a problem in Korea. Now we see signs of anti-Korea feelings in the United States, as mutual distrust seems to be growing.
There has been an unfortunate tendency in the ROK to demonize President Bush; to see him as the source of all problems and the major impediment to a negotiated settlement on the Peninsula. Campaign politics in the United States reinforced this image. But the time has come for a more objective assessment. True, Bush handled former President Kim Dae-jung's 2001 visit to Washington poorly, and the Pentagon has often been heavy-handed in pursuing its force realignment goals. But Bush and Roh have established a good working relationship and Washington has clearly taken Seoul's concerns into account both in the Future of the Alliance Talks and in its negotiations with North Korea.
While it took the Bush administration far too long to put a proposal on the table, it did so in June. A joint statement by the two leaders at the APEC meeting -- endorsed by their Japanese, Chinese and Russian counterparts -- would help put needed pressure on Pyongyang to finally sit down and talk seriously. Bush could help this effort by remembering that, in addition to being commander in chief, he is also "diplomat in chief."
One major source of tension between Washington and Seoul has been the mixed messages emanating from both capitals. Both presidents need to take action to silence their respective loose cannons. Personal attacks against North Korean leader Kim Jong-il send a message to Seoul that Washington is not serious about negotiations. I am not concerned about hurting the feelings of North Korea's leadership; I am concerned about the impact such actions have on promoting anti-American sentiment in the South.
A recent case in point saw Secretary of State Colin Powell in Seoul explaining that the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative was not specifically aimed at North Korea, at the same time that one of his senior deputies was observing a PSI exercise in Tokyo Bay, loudly proclaiming that this exercise was specifically intended to send North Korea a message. This same official last year gave a speech, in Seoul, in which he castigated Kim Jong-il, by name, no less than 40 times. State Department officials who show disdain for the fine art of diplomacy should be working elsewhere.
Likewise, I recently appeared on a public panel in Seoul with a "close personal foreign policy adviser" to Roh, who declared that Bush's passing reference to Kim Jong-il as a "tyrant" during a campaign appearance was a "deliberate attempt to undermine the six-party talks."
This same ministerial-level adviser had earlier repeated third-hand information strongly implying that the decision to reduce U.S. force levels in Korea was an emotional reaction by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to an anti-U.S. demonstration in Seoul, rather than the result of a careful, year-long deliberation process. Such irresponsible statements send the wrong signal to the people of Korea and America and undermine Roh's efforts to shore up the alliance.
What's needed today is a true ROK-U.S. strategic dialogue. Senior officials and scholars on both sides must unite to craft a blueprint for restoring and reinvigorating the alliance relationship. This must include a public diplomacy effort aimed against rising distrust on both sides.
With Bush's election victory comes an opportunity for a fresh start in rebuilding ROK-U.S. relations. This will require firm leadership from both presidents. A clear, definitive statement of resolve is needed along with a determination to stop the mixed signals that are stirring up anti-American sentiment in Korea and anti-Korean sentiment in the United States. Both leaders can start by silencing their loose cannons.
