Around 9 p.m., Rice got a phone call from Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns. He told her that the Chinese government had informed the U.S. Embassy in Beijing of North Korea's impending nuclear test. An hour later, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed that North Korea had conducted a nuclear test. Rice was busy making phone calls until early next morning.

At the time, it had been almost two years since the second Bush administration was inaugurated. No solutions to Iraq, Iran or North Korea were in sight. The more the U.S. attacked and criticized Iran and North Korea, the more unpopular it became. In a worldwide poll, almost half of the respondents said the U.S. was playing only a negative role and was not helpful to the international community.

According to an article entitled "The Confidante" by Glenn Kessler, a diplomatic correspondent for the Washington Post, Rice made an important decision right after the North conducted the nuclear test. She decided to focus on three goals -- to achieve success in talks on the North Korean nuclear problem, to make progress in nuclear talks with Iran and to help the Palestinians establish their state -- before the Bush administration's term ends. She was determined to produce tangible results.

Circumstances favored her cause. Hardliners like Vice President Dick Cheney or Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld who were deeply involved in the first Bush administration's foreign policies had less influence or had left the administration, and the new Defense Secretary Robert Gates was poised to concentrate only on Iraq.

During her Christmas holidays that year, Rice read through mountains of State Department records. She wanted to learn a lesson from how the Clinton administration wound up its tenure.

Rice revised her goals. She decided that Bush would need some achievements he could display to the American people and she a legacy to leave behind as secretary of state. She had to take a realistic and practical approach. A good example of her change was her decision to find a breakthrough in the North Korean nuclear talks by unfreezing North Korea’s US$25 million from the Banco Delta Asia in Macao. The ensuing sudden change in U.S. policy was the outcome of the decision Rice made right after the North Korean nuclear test. Bush gave his consent. Both were desperate for Iraq to be the last and only foreign-policy nightmare for the administration. That is the context in which Bush has now sent a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

It is worth noting here that Bush and Rice are also taking a special interest in the Middle East issue. Bush recently launched new peace talks between Israel and Palestine in Annapolis and is expected to visit the Middle East early next year. The Clinton administration lost the opportunity to improve U.S.-North Korean relations because it gave North Korea a lower priority than the Middle East on its list of last-moment foreign policies. At the time, Clinton rejected Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's recommendation that he visit the North, saying he didn’t want to go the other side of the globe at a time when the conclusion of the Middle East peace talks is imminent.

The Bush administration's term ends in about a year, and already election fever is high. The best possible result for Bush and Rice is progress in the talks on both issues -- Middle East peace and the North Korean nuclear problem. If there is no prospect of progress in either in the near future, Bush and Rice would try to focus on whichever issue offers a greater chance of resolution. That is why North Korea should hurry up to declare its nuclear programs, facilities and stockpiles completely and honestly by the end of this year. Will North Korea settle everything up with the Bush administration after years of talks? Or will it go back to square one and start all over again with the new administration that will be inaugurated in 2009? That is the question Bush asked of North Korea in his personal letter.

The column was contributed by Chosun Ilbo in-house columnist Kang In-sun.