Lee Pursues
Pragmatic Diplomacy

Special Envoys Dispatched With Crucial Missions

President-elect Lee Myung-bak has been pursuing "Pragmatic diplomacy,"focusing on strengthening relations with the United States and resolving the lingering standoff over North Korea's nuclear program.
During a New Year press conference, Lee stressed future-oriented developments in ties with the U.S. beyond the mere military alliance of the past.
Lee said fortified relations with the U.S. will help augment ties between Pyongyang and Washington. "Seoul should take the lead role in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue while North Korea and the U.S. are asked to go ahead with direct talks,"Lee said.
Lee has called on the U.S. to speed up its dialogue with the North, including its military leaders, if necessary, for the settlement of the nuclear row.
In support of the Lee's pragmatic approach, the special envoy of the president-elect and former leader of the Grand National Party (GNP), Park Geun-hye, called for China's cooperation in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue during a meeting with President Hu Jintao in Beijing on Jan. 17.
Park also discussed bilateral issues and ways to enhance relations, and delivered a letter from Lee to Hu. Park explained the foreign and economic policies of the incoming government.
Lee won December's presidential election on the GNP ticket.
It was the second meeting between Park and Hu after her visit to Beijing as GNP chairwoman in 2005.
In the letter, Lee thanked China for playing host country to the six-party talks and said he hoped to meet Hu as soon as possible.
Park spoke to Hu of the challenges and needs of Korean businessmen in China and asked him to pay special attention to the obstacles foreign businessmen are facing. She had a meeting with Korean businessmen on Wednesday to discuss their situation.
In response, Hu said he gives full support to the nuclear talks, aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions, and is committed to moving bilateral relations to a higher level, according to Lee's transition team.
Park earlier had a luncheon meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and had dinner with State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan. Park also visited the major facilities being prepared for the Beijing Olympics with its organizing committee.
She returned home on Jan. 19 after talks with Wang Jiarui, head of the international department of the Communist Party.
Park is Lee's second envoy to head to one of four countries ― Japan, China, Russia and the U.S.
Park was accompanied by Reps. Yoo Jeong-bok and Yoo Ki-june of the GNP and Kim Tae-hyo, the foreign affairs adviser to the president-elect and a professor at Sungkyunkwan University. Meanwhile, Park expected to face rough political waters when she returned home regarding the GNP's nominations for the April 9 National Assembly elections.
The GNP's two main factions, one led by Park and the other by Lee, have been locked in a feud over the selection of candidates.
However, she remained silent on the elections during her trip to Beijing.
An aide to Park said, "She will not talk about domestic issues, such as the elections, because she knows she is Lee's special envoy. But, she will likely raise the matter as soon as she returns home."Lee's older brother Lee Sang-deuk, vice speaker of the National Assembly, met Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in Tokyo on Jan. 16 to deliver the president-elect's letter.
Rep. Lee Jae-o, regarded as the right-hand man of President-elect Lee, left for Russia on Jan. 20 to have a series of meetings with Russian leaders on ways of solidifying relations between Seoul and Moscow.
Rep. Lee discussed with Russian officials methods to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula and Far East Asia along with steps for Korea to take a more active part in gas and crude oil exploration projects in Siberia.
In the meantime, Rep. Chung Mong-joon, concurrently vice president of the world soccer organization FIFA, also plans to visit the U.S. soon to discuss means to strengthen ties between Seoul and Washington.
He has unveiled a policy roadmap to accelerate the opening of North Korea that features the provision of $40 billion worth of international assistance to the reclusive nation on condition of its denuclearization.
The roadmap also seeks measures to turn the North Korean economy into an export-oriented one. Lee said he is ready to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-il at any time and place if needed.
Lee's transition team is focused on strengthening the alliance between Seoul and Washington for the common goal of disabling North Korea's nuclear program.
Experts regard the new policy line as a sound and desirable change needed to maximize the national interest in a more pragmatic way. The diplomacy under the current administration has been zigzagging due to an idealistic rather than realistic approach.
The pursuit of unilateral rapprochement has failed to yield a fruitful outcome in finding a solution to the nuclear standoff in a more effective way.
It is time for the government to adopt a strategic approach in inducing North Korea toward openness through the entire denuclearization process. Lee is said to have urged the U.S. to take concrete steps to guarantee the safety of the North Korean regime as part of efforts to prod the North to move toward openness.
As Lee put it, the U.S. has the key to leading the North to the outside world. The U.S. needs to show a more proactive attitude in dealing with the North over various issues, including the envisioned removal of it from a list of states sponsoring terrorism.
Without doubt, the alliance with the U.S. should be at the top of the agenda for the nation's diplomacy. Experts note Lee also needs to ensure a balanced diplomacy by solidifying relations with countries surrounding the peninsula ― China, Japan and Russia ― who are, along with the U.S. and the two Koreas, members of the six-party talks. This is why the missions of the special envoys dispatched to the four countries is more important than ever. nw

President-elect Lee Myung-bak poses for the camera during a meeting of his special envoys, who were sent to the United States, China, Japan and Russia. From left are National Assembly Vice Speaker Lee Sang-deuk, ex-GNP chairperson Park Geun-hye, President-elect Lee, Rep. Lee Jae-o and Rep. Chung Mong-joon.