Roh already has hinted at his plans for dealing with North Korea, even if these are likely to be at odds with Washington's intentions. His three-step program for ensuring inter-Korean peace includes regular bilateral talks aimed at reducing the current nuclear tensions, greater economic and cultural cooperation and a replacement of the 1953 Armistice Agreement with a formal peace treaty between Seoul and Pyongyang. While little of this matches the United States' carefully constructed silent treatment, the final stage is likely to raise more than a few eyes in Washington.
Roh hopes to sign a formal peace accord between North Korea and South Korea before the end of his five-year term, yet South Korea was not a signatory to the original 1953 Armistice Agreement. If Roh takes a more independent approach to North Korean relations than predecessor Kim Dae Jung, U.S.-South Korean ties are likely to be further strained, as Washington tries to maintain the upper hand in setting the agenda.
This leads into Roh's second major challenge: managing relations with the United States. On one hand, the presence of U.S. forces in South Korea have kept North Korea from repeating its 1950 attempt to reunify the peninsula by force. But those same forces also have been a source of social and economic friction, and the presence of the Yongsan base in the middle of Seoul gives many younger Koreans the impression that their country is still occupied. These tensions erupted last year, sparking anti-U.S. demonstrations that, on occasion, turned violent.
Roh hopes to sign a formal peace accord between North Korea and South Korea before the end of his five-year term, yet South Korea was not a signatory to the original 1953 Armistice Agreement. If Roh takes a more independent approach to North Korean relations than predecessor Kim Dae Jung, U.S.-South Korean ties are likely to be further strained, as Washington tries to maintain the upper hand in setting the agenda.
This leads into Roh's second major challenge: managing relations with the United States. On one hand, the presence of U.S. forces in South Korea have kept North Korea from repeating its 1950 attempt to reunify the peninsula by force. But those same forces also have been a source of social and economic friction, and the presence of the Yongsan base in the middle of Seoul gives many younger Koreans the impression that their country is still occupied. These tensions erupted last year, sparking anti-U.S. demonstrations that, on occasion, turned violent.