Three-way alliance - EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on Nov. 25)

President Lee Myung-bak, U.S. President George Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso had a brief but meaningful meeting Sunday in Lima, Peru, where they were attending the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

The leaders agreed on reopening six-party talks on the denuclearization of North Korea early next month.

Bush then had a separate meeting with Lee, his fourth and probably last as U.S. head
of state. As they talked about the global financial crisis and the Korea-U.S. free
trade agreement, as well as the North Korean nuclear question, the two presidents
shared satisfaction over how they had reinforced the relations of the two nations -
which had occasionally seen friction over policy in the past.

The foundation of the alliance remained firm, even under the previous
administration, as Seoul dispatched troops to Iraq, accepted the U.S. forces
relocation plan and signed the Korea-U.S. FTA. But former President Roh Moo-hyun's
self-proclaimed "balancer's role" in Northeast Asia irked Washington and Tokyo,
while it embarrassed Beijing. Seoul's soft stance toward Pyongyang did not always
compliment the U.S. pressures on the North.

Lee has sought to change this situation since his inauguration in late February, but
he was a little too hasty in doing so. A U.S. beef import agreement concluded prior
to his visit to Washington in April caused serious political turmoil in Korea. Bush
came to the rescue of the new conservative government in Seoul by allowing
renegotiations, which helped calm protests here.

Bush even ordered a correction when the U.S. Board on Geographic Names defined the
Dokdo islets as having "undesignated sovereignty" last July, which could have become
a cause of anti-Americanism here. Favorable treatment of Korea in the U.S. Foreign
Military Sales program and the virtual freeze of Korea's share in the cost of
maintaining USFK are regarded as signs of improved relations between the two allies.


Bush, throughout his two terms, worked for a stronger alliance with Tokyo, in
particular developing a friendship with former Prime Minister Koizumi. After short,
characterless Abe and Fukuda administrations, new Prime Minister Aso is showing a
positive stance toward the U.S.-Japan alliance, especially regarding the North Korea
question. Despite the unresolved issue of Pyongyang's past abductions of Japanese
citizens, Tokyo has not objected to the delisting of North Korea as a
terror-sponsoring nation.

In Lima, Bush won the consent of the leaders of other parties in the six-way talks
in pressing Pyongyang to settle the verification issue during the next round in
Beijing. It is now up to North Korea to choose between seeking some small concession
from the outgoing U.S. administration in the nuclear deal and facing the
unpredictable stance of the incoming Washington leadership.

Whatever developments may be in store in this region or elsewhere, it is important
to maintain close triangular ties between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo, which have
been built up in the closing days of the Bush administration. The relations between
Korea and Japan are supported significantly by their respective alliances with the
United States, but independent efforts are needed from the two neighbors to overcome
their differences about the past and usher in a better future.

"Strategic partnerships" exist in diplomatic documents produced in recent summit
talks. The special ties should be proved in deed - in well-coordinated steps on the
North Korean nuclear threat and most imminently in measures to fight the global
financial crisis.
(END)