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SLUG: 3-558 Wit-Nokor
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DATE=2/26/03 TYPE=INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT TITLE=WIT NOKOR NUMBER=3-558 BYLINE=SARAH WILLIAMS DATELINE=WASHINGTON INTERNET= ///// AVAILABLE IN DALET UNDER SOD/ENGLISH NEWS NOW INTERVIEWS IN THE FOLDER FOR TODAY OR YESTERDAY ///// HOST: South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun took office Tuesday amid continuing controversy surrounding his nation's relations with North Korea. In his inaugural speech, Mr. Roh called the North Korean nuclear crisis a grave threat to world peace. He said North Korea could get international assistance if it withdrew from its nuclear ambitions. Joel Wit, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic Studies here in Washington, tells V-O-A's Sarah Williams the new South Korean president faces many challenges. MR. WIT: I think the obvious challenge is to somehow put back on good footing the South Korean relationship with the United States. And that is not just in terms of reaching a solution in dealing with North Korea but also in terms of the future of the U.S.-South Korean security alliance. And I think on both counts he has a very difficult task ahead of him. In dealing with North Korea, it is very clear there are significant differences between Washington and Seoul in how to go about trying to solve that problem. And in trying to put their security alliance back in good standing, there are also some very significant problems there. And I think [they are] largely having to do with the fact that, first of all, South Korean attitudes towards the alliance have changed, but, secondly, U.S. attitudes have changed, too, and I'm not quite sure if Americans are as committed to the relationship as they used to be. MS. WILLIAMS: What are some of the differences between the United States and Seoul regarding relations with North Korea? MR. WIT: I think if South Korea had its druthers, it would want the United States to sit down and negotiate with North Korea in a bilateral way. It would want face-to-face talks between the United States and North Korea. But obviously Washington and the Bush administration aren't yet interested in doing that and, as a result, all the tensions that have been building up in the Peninsula I think will continue to mount without that face-to-face dialogue. And it leaves South Korea kind of between a rock and a hard place, because absent active U.S. involvement - sure, the South Koreans can try to resolve the situation themselves, but I think they understand they are not going to be able to do that. MS. WILLIAMS: Do you think that North Korea is using the present world attention largely focused on the Iraqi crisis to its advantage in dealing with its own nuclear situation? MR. WIT: Well, there is no doubt that they are taking advantage of the U-S focus on Iraq in order to play out their strategy. But the fact is the North Koreans did not choose this moment to play out the strategy. If you remember, what triggered this whole chain of events was a visit by a U.S. assistant secretary of state to Pyongyang, who accused North Korea of having a uranium enrichment program - that is another way of building nuclear weapons~-~and that they were conducting this secretly. And I am not saying they do not have that program, but it triggered this chain of events. And the North Koreans are of course taking advantage of Washington's focus on the Middle East. MS. WILLIAMS: Secretary of State Powell has said that he believes diplomacy and not confrontation is the best way to deal with Pyongyang. With the increasing tensions, will that be possible? MR. WIT: I have no idea what the administration means by diplomacy is the best way of dealing with Pyongyang. The administration's approach so far has focused on trying to convene some sort of multilateral meeting, where somehow this situation would be resolved, or working multilaterally through the U.N. to try to put more pressure on North Korea. But the point is that approach is just destined for failure. And the reason it's destined for failure is because the key to this situation is diplomatic. It's for the U.S. to sit down bilaterally and deal with North Korea. And that in turn makes it easier to seek tougher measures if that face-to-face diplomacy fails. But right now we're stuck in neutral, and this approach is not going to go anywhere. Host: Joel Wit, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, speaking about some of the challenges facing the Korean peninsula. NEB/SW/RAE |
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