Lee, Bush Agree
on Strategic Alliance

President Lee exercises pragmatic diplomacy

President Lee Myung-bak's recent visit to the United States is significant in that it has paved the way for Seoul and Washington to set up a new relationship, which has soured in recent years.
The visit has been a crucial test for Lee's much-touted pragmatic diplomacy, to which he has been referring since he was inaugurated last month.
President Lee and his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush agreed to upgrade the bilateral relations between Seoul and Washington to a "strategic alliance,"while making concerted efforts to resolve the lingering standoff over North Korea's attempt to develop nuclear weapons.
Lee has embarked on the second leg of his first official overseas trip following a meeting with President George W. Bush at his Maryland presidential retreat Camp David.
In a press conference following the summit on April 19 (KST), the two leaders agreed to maintain the current U.S. troop level in South Korea; not to condone a nuclear-armed North Korea; push for the ratification of the FTA; and enable visa-free travel to the U.S. by South Koreans this year. They also expressed concern over the human rights situation in North Korea and vowed to address the issues of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.
Bush accepted Lee's invitation to visit Seoul later this summer.
On the nuclear issue, the two Presidents said they are committed to a nuclear-free North Korea. But they also made it clear that they do not harbor any hostile intent or ill will toward Pyongyang. The two leaders pledged to resolve the nuclear issue only through peaceful means and dialogue, but they said they would not lower the bar on the requirement for Pyongyang's nuclear transparency.
"Korea and the United States do not harbor any hostile intent towards North Korea,"President Lee told reporters during the press conference. Lee said he and Bush "agreed to work together to help North Korea escape international isolation and to improve the lives of the North Korean people."He told reporters that President Bush supported his policy toward North Korea, "including our denuclearization 'opening-3000'policy,'and also said that the United States will continue to seek ways to promote dialogue and exchange with North Korea."But the two leaders also emphasized that there will be no comprise when it comes to the actual denuclearization of the North.
oth of us reaffirmed once again that under no circumstances would we allow North Korea to possess nuclear weapons. We agreed to work together closely within the six-party talks so that North Korea can fully and completely give up all their nuclear weapons programs as soon as possible.'President Bush has been taking heat from some of the more conservative voices within his own political party. His critics have argued that Bush has been getting soft on North Korea by possibly backing off from demanding a specific declaration of Pyongyang's past nuclear activities. North Korea missed a Dec. 31, 2007, deadline for making such a declaration. The U.S. plans to dispatch a team to North Korea within days to allow denuclearization to proceed.
Bush said that as long as Pyongyang sticks to the denuclearization process, "The U.S. will actively explore ways to improve relations with North Korea."The two leaders also discussed several other economic and military bilateral issues during the summit, including the FTA, the U.S. Visa Waiver Program and the future of U.S. troops stationed in Korea.
The two presidents agreed that the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) is an important part of the two countries'continuing alliance.
President Bush urged the U.S. Congress to ratify the pact within this year. "The Congress,"he said, “should not turn its back on a friend and ally like Korea, and must approve the free trade agreement with Korea this year. It's in our country's interests that we approve this agreement."The free trade pact has been facing some resistance from U.S. lawmakers, but President Lee may now have smoothed the way for its passage by agreeing to lift the ban on U.S. beef imports to Korea. Indeed, Bush specifically mentioned the lifting of the ban, saying that he "appreciates"Lee's decision to reopen Korea's market to American beef.
On the topic of the U.S. visa waiver program, Lee and Bush announced their signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the initiative, which would allow South Korean nationals short-term visa-free travel to the United States. President Bush said he will try to implement the program before the end of this year.
The two leaders also said they agreed on maintaining the current U.S. troop level in South Korea: "We reached an agreement to maintain the current U.S. troop level on the peninsula,"President Bush said. "This is a mutual agreement that benefits both our nations and will strengthen our alliance. And Secretary Gates and Defense Minister Lee will coordinate its implementation."
On another military bilateral issue, Bush said he supports upgrading South Korea's "foreign military sales status,"allowing Korea the same access to U.S. military technology as NATO and other key allies.
In a keynote speech at the Korea Society's annual dinner in Manhattan on April 15, Lee cited the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) and the VWP as two powerful means to reinforce the nations'bilateral alliance.
"If the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the U.S. visa waiver program for Koreans is signed on the occasion of my visit, exchanges in the human resources field will take place,"he said.
Lee also said the two countries should push for the ratification of the FTA as early as possible.
President Lee reiterated South Korea's position to stop his predecessors'policies of economically engaging North Korea.
"There will be no more unconditional economic assistance to the North,"Lee said in his meeting with a group of Korean-Americans in Washington.
Lee stressed that he does not regard the North's recent provocative statements as military threats, saying, "Their threats are merely military rhetoric."But Lee said if Pyongyang changes its mindset to improve inter-Korean relations, he is willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-il anytime.
If North Korea gives up its nuclear program, the South will help the country stand on its own feet economically, he added.
Experts on North Korean policy said that Seoul would spare both words and actions in dealing with North Korea.
But they also said reticence amid hostility could only escalate tensions by unnecessarily causing a sense of neglect, particularly when the silent party started the verbal tit-for-tat.
"It is quite certain that North Korean nuclear programs are serious. But that should be no reason for Seoul to aggravate conflict and tension,"a Unification Ministry official said.
Lee also told the Korean-Americans that the South Korean economy will be able to grow by about 6 percent this year, despite a U.S. economic slump, if his new government successfully carries out a reform drive to eradicate regressive economic and social practices.
Lee said South Korea will surely grow into the world's seventh largest economy in 10 years if it undergoes structural economic reform over the next five years.
"Since I took office, many foreign companies have expressed an increased interest in investing in Korea,"the President said. "If backwards elements in our society are removed, we will be able to attain our economic growth goal for this year, regardless of the possible near-zero growth of the U.S. economy."Lee's diplomatic finesse faced a critical test when he traveled to the United States and Japan.
Lee, inaugurated in February, has pledged to enhance relations with the United States and Japan as one of his diplomatic priorities.
"This (trip) will be our first step in carrying out the pragmatic diplomacy of the new government,"Lee said during a news conference ahead of his departure.
Lee is the first South Korean leader to have been invited to Camp David, which is famous as a setting for drawing up key international accords. Lee spent a total of three days in the capital city and Camp David.
In Japan, he held a summit with Fukuda on April 21, focusing on promoting future-oriented cooperation and exchanges between the two countries.
President Lee is a strong advocate of what he calls pragmatic diplomacy, which includes a principled attitude in dealing with North Korea.
Lee articulated his pragmatic approach in foreign affairs when he called for prioritizing national interests and the removal of ideological intransigence during his meeting last month with the Foreign Ministry.
"Terms like 'pro-U.S.,' 'pro-China,'or 'pro-Japan'do not exist for me. If it is in our best national interest, we may become allies. If not, there can be no alliance. But the (previous) government appears to have had no regard for national interests,"the president told ministry officials.
Lee and his aides said his summit with Bush would focus on rebuilding mutual trust with Washington, and enhancing the more-than-half-century alliance between the two countries.
"During the last 10 years, this relationship, of course, hasn's been damaged beyond repair, but there were some instances where we did experience some difficulties, and some damage has been done to the relationship between Korea and the United States,"Lee said in an interview with the New York Times.
"So, during my visit to the United States, I hope, first of all, to repair this and to rebuild the trust between the two countries."Lee and Bush also coordinated bilateral efforts to denuclearize North Korea and make progress in the six-party talks, which are currently stalled over Pyongyang's declaration of its nuclear programs.
Lee sought U.S. support for his policy toward North Korea, including a program of massive development aid on the condition of Pyongyang's denuclearization.
The two leaders also discussed their cooperation in the international diplomatic arena to address the war on terrorism, the promotion of democracy, the environment and other global issues.
Lee's pragmatism will also define his approach to ties with Japan. In his summit with Fukuda, Lee sought to move beyond historical disputes that have dogged bilateral ties, and to put more emphasis on economic and security cooperation, Seoul officials said. nw

Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President George W. Bush arrive at Camp David via a flight by U.S. Air Force One to hold summit talks in an amicable atmosphere.