By Scott Snyder
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Seoul Thursday on her first visit to South Korea in her new capacity as U.S. Secretary of State. South Koreans have anticipated her arrival ― and the establishment of the Obama administration's policy for the Korean Peninsula ― with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.
This mood has been fed by a rapid deterioration in inter-Korean relations, increasingly strident North Korean military threats toward the South, and preparations to launch a long-range missile.
The agenda for the visit is broad ― suggesting that the U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) alliance is now positioned to make contributions beyond the peninsula ― but the core preoccupation will remain how to deal with North Korea.
Initial Obama administration pronouncements dealt with North Korea exclusively in the context of nonproliferation. However, many Koreans had (erroneously) interpreted Obama campaign statements as implying that he would pursue an American version of Kim Dae-jung's Sunshine Policy toward the North.