At the end of July, U.S. President George W. Bush instructed the federal Board on Geographic Names to restore the Korean sovereignty reference to Dokdo and there were other instances when the American president came to the aid of Korean President Lee Myung-bak during times of trouble, according to his spokesman.

The official term of President Bush, who the present Korean administration trusts so much, expires on Jan. 20 of next year. But much sooner than that -- on Nov. 4 -- is the U.S. presidential election and from then on the center of American politics will shift to the president elect. Right now, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is likely to win, but a surprise win by Republic candidate John McCain cannot be ruled out, expert say. At any rate, after Nov. 5 (Korea time), measures to deal with the global financial crisis, North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, and other major diplomatic and security policies will be handed over to the U.S. president elect.

Regardless of which candidate wins, the Bush administration, which has led America for the past eight years, will come to an end. Judging from past experience, each time a U.S. president changes, Korea-U.S. relations have undergone teething troubles. A classic case is the discord in dealing with North Korea the former Kim Dae-jung administration underwent at the White House right after President Bush was elected. The government must make preparations through close consultations with the new U.S. administration to minimize mistakes. We must re-examine our priorities in our alliance with the United States and re-establish networks of contacts surrounding the new U.S. leader.

Most urgently, we need to strengthen the Seoul-Washington alliance, as well as find ways to cooperate with America on dealing with North Korea and the global financial crisis. Where general issues are concerned, there will be no changes in the Korea-U.S. alliance -- no matter who becomes president. But as the situation in Afghanistan and other regions worsens, both Obama and McCain are talking about dispatching additional troops overseas, so we can see changes in the U.S. troop presence in South Korea, as well as the possibility of sending our troops abroad.

The North Korean nuclear crisis could become even more complicated than it currently is. Obama has mentioned the possibility of direct talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. In that case, South Korea could see its role weakening, while the communist country bypasses Seoul to deal directly with Washington. McCain, meanwhile, was against the 1994 Geneva Accord and has consistently shown distrust toward North Korea. If he becomes the next U.S. president, then the communist country could face new pressure -- and the six-country talks could face crisis.

These are tough tasks for our diplomats to tackle. The Obama camp has already warned it would seek a renegotiation of the South Korea-U.S. FTA, reflecting the views of the American automobile industry.

President Lee Myung-bak travels to Washington D.C. on Nov. 15 to attend the G-20 conference to discuss the global financial crisis. When Lee visited Washington in April, British Prime Minister Gordon, who held a summit with Bush a day earlier, met for 45 minutes each with Obama and McCain. Due to the special nature of the British relationship with the United States, London has become extremely agile in its dealings with America. Our diplomatic ability is being put to the test once again.