South Korea gears up for challenge of Bush visit

South Korea gears up for challenge of Bush visit

Reuters, Seoul

South Korea geared up on Friday for a visit by U.S. President
George W. Bush, whose recent harsh comments about North Korea
underscored a rift between two allies at one of the world's most
dangerous flashpoints.

On arguably the most difficult stop of an Asian tour that also
includes Japan and China, Bush meets South Korean President Kim
Dae-jung next week with Seoul still reeling from his remarks
branding North Korea, Iraq and Iran an "axis of evil".

Even before the bombshell speech, many South Koreans blamed
Bush, who will hold his third summit with Kim on Feb. 20, for
undermining Kim's Nobel Peace Prize-winning "sunshine policy" of
engaging North Korea with his hawkish stance toward Pyongyang.

Kim, who has just a year left in office, has scrambled to
salvage his North Korea policy and fend off domestic critics who
say he has neglected Seoul's alliance with the United States,
which keeps 37,000 troops in the South as a war deterrent.

"The main agenda will be how to close the gap that has
appeared between the two governments: the gap over perception of
and policy toward North Korea," said Lee Jung-hoon, professor of
international relations at Yonsei University in Seoul.

South Korea has been alternately soothed by assurances the
United States is committed to talks with North Korea and alarmed
by stern American words since Bush's "axis of evil" speech.

On Friday, Seoul announced Kim and Bush would appear at the
last South Korean stop on a railway line severed since the 1950-
53 Korean War cemented the division of Korea.

South Korea opened a rail line to Dorasan station on Tuesday
and urged the communist North to match the gesture to keep
pledges the two Koreas made at Kim's landmark summit with North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il in June 2000.

North Korea has walked away from goodwill projects over what
it calls the hostile policies of Bush.