Clinton’s Visit

Korea, US Should Work Together to Solidify Alliance

South Koreans hope the four-nation Asian visit by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week will pave the way for a breakthrough in the nuclear standoff with North Korea. She is scheduled to stay in Seoul Feb. 19-20 as part of her first overseas trip as the top American diplomat. Her tour has significant implications, revealing the Barack Obama administration's North Korea policy.

At the top of her agenda is North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Seoul and Washington are likely to broadly agree on how to tackle the nuclear issue. It is imperative that two countries step up cooperation to solidify their traditional alliance to help find a solution to the nuclear problem.

It's worth noting that the new U.S. administration has stressed diplomacy and engagement with North Korea despite a series of provocative acts by the communist state. Tensions have been growing due to Kim Jong-il's regime's threats to scrap all inter-Korean agreements, nullify a West Sea border and wage a military campaign against the South. Pyongyang is also preparing to test-fire a long-range missile ahead of Clinton's visit.

In this context, South Korea and the U.S. are required to work together to foil the North's reckless efforts to ratchet up tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The two countries should send a clear message that Pyongyang can never succeed with its notorious brinkmanship tactics and nuclear blackmail. It's important that the two sides no longer play into the hands of the North, which is aiming at more concessions.

There is no discord between Seoul and Washington over the continuation of the six-nation talks for the North's nuclear disarmament. In a speech to the Asia Society in New York City Friday, Clinton reaffirmed that the Obama administration will continue the six-party negotiations. She also expressed the U.S government's willingness to normalize relations with North Korea as long as the world's last Stalinist country abandons its nuclear program.

Clinton also said the U.S. is ready to replace the peninsula's armistice agreement with a permanent peace treaty. She did not miss the chance to remind the North of other benefits, including energy and other economic aid, from its denuclearization. Despite her reconciliatory gesture, Clinton warned North Korea not to destabilize regional security with repeated threats. She urged the North to ``avoid any provocative action and unhelpful rhetoric toward South Korea."

The Obama government should clarify that it will not accept North Korea as a nuclear power in order not to send a wrong signal to the recalcitrant state. Seoul and Washington must also deactivate Pyongyang's outdated policy of sidelining South Korea while scrambling for direct talks with the U.S. It's urgent to revive the six-party denuclearization talks and upgrade the alliance between Seoul and Washington.

Other important issues such as the global economic crisis and a Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) must not be dwarfed by North Korean affairs. We hope Clinton's visit will serve as an opportunity for the two nations to make greater efforts to help stabilize the financial market and speed up economic recovery. She is also urged to strive to narrow differences on the FTA for the speedy ratification of the landmark trade deal. We hope her first overseas mission is a success.