[Foreign Policy] Seoul Charts New Ties With Four Powers

By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter

President Lee Myung-bak will base his foreign policy on improved relations with the four neighboring powers of the United States, China, Japan and Russia, while pursuing pragmatic diplomacy with others ― particularly for energy resources.

In other words, Lee will conduct foreign policy, seeking the national interest in the international community based on strengthened relations with countries such as the United States.

Lee's special attention to the relations with Washington, reflects his understanding that South Korea needs to repair the alliance damaged under the Roh Moo-hyun administration. The Korean government and scholars on foreign affairs have shared similar views on this issue.

The briefing to the presidential transition team made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade last month also contained flaws in the alliance between Korea and the United States. The ministry reportedly confessed that there was lack of coordination between Seoul and Washington, for example, regarding the second inter-Korean summit held in Pyongyang in October 2007.

``It is very important for Seoul and Washington to have a common perception of North Korea because it is the right starting point for the alliance,'' Moon Chung-in, a professor of international politics at Yonsei University, said. ``However, in the past five years under the Roh administration, the Seoul-Washington alliance faced difficulties due to differing perceptions.''

One of the examples in which the Lee government will see eye to eye with the U.S. government is probably in its North Korea policy.

Unlike the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations, Lee made it clear that he would drop the engagement or so-called ``sunshine'' policy toward North Korea, adding reciprocity would be applied in inter-Korean relations.

A group of experts of the two countries also noted the United States will welcome Seoul's reciprocal approach to inter-Korean relations.

``The United States prefers that South Korea uses its immense leverage with North Korea to insist on a more hard-headed reciprocity with Pyongyang,'' said a report published by the U.S.-Korea Strategic Forum last week.

The reciprocal steps for South Korea's investment in the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, joint tourism ventures and humanitarian assistance would include the North taking steps to develop a free market economy, improve its human rights record, lower its provocative military posture and generally reduce its regional isolation, the report added.
The report was a result of two years of discussions by 30 scholars including John Ikenberry of Princeton University; Mitchell Reiss, vice head for affairs at the College of William and Mary; and Moon.
The foreign ministry also set the nation's diplomacy direction consistent with Lee's foreign policy and one of the seven doctrines that the ministry set as a goal is the strengthened Seoul-Washington alliance.

Seoul-Tokyo Ties

A senior official of the ministry said that relations between South Korea and Japan have gone downhill in the past few years and the new government will try to restore these ties.

``When President Roh took office in early 2003, we were anticipating good Seoul-Tokyo ties and we, in fact, saw some progress in the so-called shuttle diplomacy,'' the official said on condition of anonymity. ``But since 2005, things worsened because of history issues.''

He said both Seoul and Tokyo diplomats also expect the Lee administration to restore the relations and the No. 1 priority will be the restoration of the shuttle diplomacy, which originated from former President Roh Tae-woo's one-day visit to Tokyo in 1992.

The official was confident that this will be restored in the new government.

``The Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will attend the Feb. 25 inauguration ceremony and naturally there will be a summit between Lee and Fukuda. Additionally, Lee will likely visit Japan for the G-8 Summit in July, and then we expect the shuttle diplomacy to resume,'' he said.
The resumption of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) is another hot issue from an economic perspective between the two countries. Though the two nations began talks late in 2003, they were suspended the next year.

Lee has already expressed his hope to resume negotiations after receiving letters from business associations of the two countries urging this.
The last remaining issue is North Korea, particularly the Japanese who were abducted by the North.

``Japan submitted to North Korea a list of 17 Japanese people who were believably kidnapped by the North, and North Korea returned five, saying eight are dead and four had not been taken to the North,'' the official said. ``But Japan is not satisfied with North Korea's explanation.''

Seoul-China Ties

Lee's foreign policy with China started with his selection of former Chairwoman Park Geun-hye of the Grand National Party (GNP) as his special envoy to China last month. On behalf of Lee, Park explained his basic policies to Beijing officials.

Though Lee and Park had conflicts regarding the party nomination for the April 9 general election, Lee picked Park to take part in his pragmatic diplomacy. Lee wanted to show that just because he wanted to restore relations with the United States and Japan, it does not mean he has forgotten about China.

Actually, Park was welcomed and treated almost like a head of state in Beijing.

When Park met Lee to brief him on her four-day visit to Beijing one month ago, Lee said, ``People now realize how much we put great importance on China because Park visited China. We have realized our goals.''

Beijing invited Lee to the Olympic Games in August through Park, and Lee asked Park to visit China with him in summer.

Seoul officials said that it is wrong to think the Lee administration would downgrade relations with China at the expense of upgrading relations with the United States and Japan or the Seoul-Washington-Tokyo cooperation.

Whenever Lee met the Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Ning Fukui, Lee never failed to acknowledge China's efforts to resolve North Korea's nuclear weapons problem as the host country of the six-party talks.

Seoul-Moscow Ties

Seoul-Moscow ties will likely culminate as a perfect example of what Lee seeks to achieve in energy diplomacy.

Lee sent his closest aide Rep. Lee Jae-oh of the GNP to Russia as his special envoy last month and his main mission was to find energy resources in Russia.

During the six-day visit, the envoy visited Moscow and Vladivostok where he discussed the development of oil fields, and the Trans-Korean and Trans-Siberian Railroads.

His visit was focused on energy diplomacy as he met with 13 minister-level officials in Russia related to the development of natural resources and trade.

He received positive answers from them that Korean companies are encouraged to participate in creating an infrastructure dor the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vladivostok in 2012.

President Lee said, ``The world is competing to gain energy resources through diplomacy. We should firmly establish energy diplomacy with relevant countries such as Russia.''

yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr