(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on April 4) Off to good start

The first summit meeting between President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama held in London on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting was a chance for the leaders of the two close allies to meet face-to-face and get acquainted.

The 30-minute meeting did not allow for any in-depth discussions of issues facing
the two countries. However, it did provide an opportunity for the two close
allies to present a unified stance on the possible space rocket launch by North
Korea. With experts predicting that the communist state could fire a space launch
vehicle as early as today, there was an urgent need for South Korea and the
United States to voice strong opposition to the launch, which is widely believed
to be a guise to test-fire a long-range missile theoretically capable of reaching
Alaska.
Lee and Obama spent much of their meeting discussing the North Korean issue.
While there is dissension among the five countries involved in the six-nation
talks aimed at denuclearizing North Korea over how to respond to a missile launch
by Pyongyang, Lee and Obama agreed on the need "for a stern, united response from
the international community."
Given that North Korea is likely to proceed with the missile launch, there is
little that can be done to prevent it now - other than trying to talk Pyongyang
out of it. Even that effort is unlikely to be successful as fueling work on the
missile reported to have commenced.
So Lee and Obama did what they could do for the moment: Issuing a stern warning
against North Korea and calling on the international community to join in the
condemnation of the missile launch.
The Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, another major issue concerning the two
countries, got a mention but nothing substantive concerning the agreement came
out of the mini summit meeting. The free trade agreement signed in 2007 has yet
to be ratified by the legislatures in both countries.
During the U.S. presidential campaign, Obama had hinted that a review of the free
trade agreement was necessary, causing speculation here that the United States
may seek to renegotiate. During his meeting with Lee, Obama is reported to have
said that while there were difficulties with the deal on both sides, he wanted to
"make progress" on it. Lee expressed his desire to have the deal ratified
explaining that it will not only bring economic benefits but also strengthen the
relationship between the two allies.
On the issue of South Korea's participation in the Afghan war, the Blue House
said that Obama expressed appreciation for South Korea's contributions and
support in Afghanistan. The South Korean government, which pulled out its
non-combat troops in 2007, is trying to find ways to contribute to U.S. efforts
in Afghanistan without committing combat troops. The Blue House said that the
issue of military dispatch to Afghanistan was not raised at all during the talks.

While the summit meeting merely touched on the major issues concerning the two
countries, it was an opportunity for the leaders of the two countries to get to
know each other. There have been concerns that Lee, a staunch conservative, and
Obama, who has a more liberal agenda, may have some differences. However, the
London meeting should allay those concerns.
For the Lee administration, which has been anxious about a possible rift between
Seoul and Washington as a result of direct talks between Washington and
Pyongyang, the summit provided the assurance it has been seeking. Obama said that
in pursuing its North Korea policy, the United States will hold transparent and
comprehensive discussions with South Korea, according to the Blue House
statement.
Lee and Obama are to hold a summit meeting in the United States on June 16. The
first summit meeting was a getting-to-know-you session that yielded much
goodwill. However, the next meeting may not be so easygoing.
(END)