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The summit between presidents Roh Moo-hyun and George W. Bush on Thursday, where the two agreed in principle that Korea will exercise sole operational control of its troops, has raised a number of questions.
¡ß What did President Bush mean when he said the matter should not become ¡®a political issue¡¯?
Bush said, ¡°I agree with the president that the issue should not become a political issue.¡± Cheong Wa Dae claims conservatives are using the matter for political gain, while conservative critics say it is Roh who politicized the matter by linking it to Korea¡¯s ¡°independence.¡±
Which side does Bush¡¯s remark intend to keep in check? Senior presidential secretary for national security Seo Joo-seok said in a radio interview Friday, ¡°The remark should be interpreted to mean that the issue has become too politicized here, and that we must move on to determining and confirming the facts of the matter.¡± A government official said since Bush said, ¡°I agree with the president,¡± it is difficult to read the remark as being against President Roh. But a senior researcher at the Sejong Research Institute, Song Dae-sung, said, ¡°In my view, the remark seems to mean that no matter how we deal with the issue, the U.S. does not want it to encourage anti-American sentiment here.¡±
¡ß What is the ¡®comprehensive approach¡¯?
On an announced ¡°joint comprehensive approach¡± to end North Korea¡¯s nuclear program, Roh merely told reporters, ¡°We are discussing it on a working level but our discussions have not been completed yet and they are very complicated.¡± Chief presidential security secretary Song Min-soon said in a briefing the approach ¡°has two goals of making North Korea return to six-party talks on its nuclear program and then coming up with ways to facilitate the implementation of a statement of principles announced at the six-party talks in Beijing last year.¡± It will start with consultations between the chief nuclear negotiators of the two countries next week, he added.
In other words, the approach covers bringing the North back to the table and what to do when it returns. The government is reportedly considering an offer of new incentives to North Korea for returning to the talks.
The problem is that North Korea is demanding that the U.S. lifts financial sanctions against it as a prerequisite for coming back to the talks, while the U.S. is strengthening the sanctions. The South Korean government reportedly has no way of addressing the dilemma and has only come up with a rough plan to deal with the situation, which is not yet finalized.
¡ß Is the U.S. delaying sanctions?
Song, asked whether the two presidents talked about U.S. sanctions against the North at the summit, said, ¡°They did not discuss the matter.¡± Roh told reporters, ¡°We are not at a stage where we talk about other sanctions.¡± The reason may be that the government asked Washington to delay announcing additional sanctions against the North until after the summit. A high-ranking government official confirms that such a request was made by Seoul.
The U.S. is likely to announce punitive measures over North Korea¡¯s counterfeiting of U.S. dollars and cigarettes and smuggling of narcotics later this month. Washington has already asked UN member states to join hands in imposing sanctions on the North. It only postponed their announcement.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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