Instead, the leaders of Korea and the U.S. are said to be holding a separate summit after attending the expanded G8 leaders' meeting at the invitation of host Japan. The White House is saying the U.S. leader could visit Korea in August, around the time of the Beijing Olympics.

Bush has encountered protests in many countries he has visited during his term in office, but there have been almost no instances where the visit itself had been postponed like this. This shows just how serious both Korea and the U.S. view the situation here. This situation cannot be of any benefit to the Korea-U.S. alliance.

Nevertheless, it would be of no use to hold a summit if it would end up leading to no benefits for both sides. Korea is facing a very sensitive situation following the issuance of a legal notice on new sanitary rules for the resumption of U.S. beef imports. It remains to be seen how the situation will develop from this point. If Bush were to visit Korea in July as originally anticipated, there is a strong possibility that the candlelight protesters would use the opportunity to their advantage. Of what use would a Korea-U.S. alliance discussion be if they took place while downtown Seoul was paralyzed by anti-American protests?

Right now, around two-thirds of all Koreans are afraid that consuming American beef would put them at risk of contracting the human form of mad cow disease, while U.S. government officials are saying they cannot understand those fears since Americans eat U.S. beef every day. This huge rift must be narrowed through the efforts of both sides in order for a summit of any significance to take place.

Chinese President Hu Jintao was planning to visit Japan in April. But fears over Chinese dumplings erupted in Japan and the visit took place a month later after those fears calmed down. Bush's visit to Korea should consider this precedent.