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S. Korea pushes for contacts with North
By PAUL DE LA GARZA © St. Petersburg Times, published March 8, 2001 WASHINGTON -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il was nowhere near the nation's capital Wednesday, but he gave the Bush administration fits nonetheless as it tried to outline its fledgling policy on the heavily militarized Korean peninsula. In his first meeting with an Asian leader since winning the White House, President Bush met with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung. While both men told reporters in the Oval Office that they had discussed a range of issues, the Communist regime in North Korea, a final flashpoint in the Cold War, dominated their discussions. Last year, Kim Dae Jung won the Nobel Peace Prize for his reconciliation efforts with the North, and he is anxious for Washington to support his "sunshine policy" aimed at opening the isolated regime in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, for the first time in 50 years. The White House, however, thinks that Kim Dae Jung is moving too fast, that the South is giving more to the North than it is getting in return. In South Korea, Kim is also losing support as South Koreans see him as a one-issue president, obsessed with reconciliation as the economy flounders. The White House, meanwhile, has been sending mixed signals on North Korea. The Bush administration had said it was in no hurry to engage Kim Jong Il, insisting it was undertaking a "thorough review" of U.S. policy toward North Korea. But Tuesday, Secretary of State Colin Powell said the administration would pick up where the Clinton administration left off in negotiations with North Korea over its missile programs. On Wednesday, Bush himself contradicted Powell. The president said he told Kim he looked forward "to at some point in the future having a dialogue with the North Koreans, but that any negotiation would require complete verification of the terms of the potential agreement." North Korea, which has sought to come out of its shell with an economy in a shambles and with its population starving to death, has threatened to scrap a moratorium and resume missile tests if Washington does not immediately resume arms negotiations. William Drennan, an expert on the Korean peninsula at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, said confusion over Korea policy was to be expected, considering the weeks the administration has been in office. While the key players are in place, he noted that the support staff was still awaiting Senate confirmation. In a way, Drennan said, the Bush team, which features foreign policy stars including Powell, was wise in reviewing U.S. policy toward North Korea rather than locking in on a "declaratory policy." Kim Dae Jung wanted to meet with Bush, Drennan said, to give his "sunshine policy" a boost. "This is his baby," he said. "This is going to be his legacy. ... He wants progress." He will have to wait. Bush appears poised to take a tougher stance against the North than his predecessor, who negotiated a major deal for nuclear power plants with Pyongyang in 1994 and almost succeeded last year in reaching a deal on missile controls. President Clinton contemplated visiting Pyongyang in the waning days of his administration to seal a deal that would have kept North Korea's missile program in check. He also wanted to keep it from selling missile technology around the world. In selling his idea for a missile defense shield, however, Bush has pointed to so-called rogue nations like North Korea as examples of enemies that could threaten the United States with a missile strike. On Wednesday, Bush said he appreciated Kim's "leadership in terms of reaching out to the North Koreans." He said, "We look forward to working toward peace on the peninsula," but he added "that I do have some skepticism about the leader of North Korea." Powell, who sat in on the meetings, used stronger language. Asked if he considered North Korea a threat, he said yes. "It's got a huge army poised on the border within artillery and rocket distance of South Korea." South Korean officials have argued that the U.S. insists on painting North Korea as a rogue state as part of its campaign to promote a missile defense system. Steve LaMontagne, an analyst with the Council for a Livable World, said it was a mistake not to engage North Korea in dialogue. "If the U.S. does view North Korea as a threat," he said, "all the more reason to accelerate negotiations, not postpone them." Only a week ago, the president of South Korea, home to 37,000 American troops, angered the White House by apparently siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the issue of U.S. plans for a missile defense shield. With Bush at his side, Kim called the brouhaha "a misunderstanding."
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