Roh, Bush on fence-mending mission at Washington summit

Roh, Bush on fence-mending mission at Washington summit

Charles Whelan, Agence France-Presse/Seoul

South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun left for Washington on
Thursday for a summit with President George W. Bush aimed at
shoring up an alliance whose future has been increasingly called
into question.

The former human rights lawyer and the conservative U.S.
leader will meet at the White House on Friday for talks focussing
on North Korea and bilateral relations.

The two leaders come together as cracks have begun to emerge
in the alliance dating back more than 50 years and forged in
blood during the 1950-53 Korean War.

The U.S. Republican leader and the former South Korean
dissident have met three times since Roh took office in February
2003, but their fourth summit is being billed as the most
important.

The North Korean nuclear standoff has created a rift between
the allies, with the progressive Roh administration advocating a
soft line towards Pyongyang and opposing White House plans for
tougher measures including sanctions.

At the same time Roh, elected on the back of widespread anti-
American demonstrations in December 2002, has called for a more
equal relationship with Washington and less reliance on the U.S.
military.

Much of his support in the elections came from a younger
generation of South Koreans who view North Korea as a nation of
impoverished brothers rather than a national security threat.

The nuclear standoff that so alarms Washington gets mixed
reactions from the South Korean public, with very few people
believing that Pyongyang would ever use a nuclear weapon against
the South.

At the same time, the gap has been widening between Seoul and
Washington.

This was reflected in recent comments by a senior Japanese
diplomat who indicated that Washington no longer trusted the Roh
government in Seoul enough to share secret information.

"This is a relationship that has passed its 50th anniversary
and the threat of divorce is real," said Peter Beck, an analyst
with the International Crisis Group. "It is going to take work
from both sides."

Experts said tension between the two allies who fought
side-by-side to repel North Korean aggression has focused on a
series of issues in recent months, including Seoul's refusal to
grant U.S. forces based in South Korea so-called strategic
flexibility for deployment elsewhere on the region.

"Strategic flexibility is so important to the U.S. military
that it could split the alliance," said Beck. "For Seoul to
openly challenge or reject one of the basic operating principles
of the U.S. military is very dramatic."

Roh's recent calls for Seoul to play a so-called "balancer"
role in the region has raised questions about South Korea's
commitment to the U.S. alliance as has Seoul's decision to block
a U.S. operational plan for military intervention in North Korea
in the event of an emergency there.

"We have a lot to talk about in the alliance," said a senior
South Korean official, asking to remain anonymous.

On North Korea, experts said they expected Roh to reveal
details of a new proposal aimed at enticing North Korea to return
to six-party talks, one year after the last of three inconclusive
rounds took place.

During high-level inter-Korean talks last month, the South
Korean side said it had a new package of rewards for North Korea
if it agreed to return to the talks.

However, the senior government official said the only deal on
the table was the proposal made at the talks in June 2004 by the
U.S., that promised North Korea benefits in return for a
commitment to disarm.