Dealing with North Korea: The Key Foreign Policy and Security Challenge for the U.S.-ROK Alliance
June 12, 2003
Occasional Paper 49
This paper
was published by Alan Romberg in preparation for the New Strategy
Institute of Korea Colloquium on "Korea-U.S. Alliance: Reaffirming the
Cooperative Partnership" in Seoul on June 12, 2003. An excerpt is
provided below. Click on the PDF link above for the full article.
"Despite
ROK President Roh Moo-hyun's successful visit to the United States, and
the very artful joint statement issued following his meeting with U.S.
President George W. Bush on May 14, 2003, the alliance partners have so
far only papered over their fundamental differences on how to approach
North Korea and what steps to take if the situation deteriorates. Not
only is there a wide gap on the issue of how or even whether to
negotiate with Pyongyang beyond the most general commitment to resolve
the issue peacefully, but in important respects the goals of the two
governments diverge sharply. In this circumstance, it will be a major
challenge to both manage the North Korean problem and to maintain and
hopefully strengthen the U.S.-ROK alliance. It is clear that both Mr.
Roh and Mr. Bush value the alliance and that they have established a
certain level of personal rapport that will help navigate the difficult
course ahead. But unless the North Korean nuclear issue can be resolved
through diplomacy and as of this writing that is at least questionable
there is a significant probability that heightened tensions with North
Korea will strain ties between Washington and Seoul. This paper
addresses some of the key issues involved and the challenges ahead."
