Roh Reaffirms Commitment to Nuclear Ban on Penninsula

President Roh Moo-hyun, on his first state visit to the U.S. said Monday, touching on the realignment of the 37,000 American soldiers stationed in Korea, “I will make an earnest request to the U.S. to maintain the presence of the 2nd Infantry Division at its current location until the North Korean nuclear issue is fully resolved and other measures regarding Korea`s national security are in place.”

On the first day of his visit, the President attended a meeting with Korean-Americans in New York at a hotel where he is now staying. At the meeting, he emphasized that “although the two countries haven`t reached agreement yet on this issue, by the time I leave for Seoul, the issue will have been fully addressed.”

“U.S. troops in Korea is the most important symbolic element in the Korea-U.S. Alliance. In a long run, the roles of the two countries on the Korean Peninsula will be transformed in accordance with strategic changes in the Northeast Asian region. However, in the short-term perspective, as Korea is now facing security uncertainties due to the North`s nuclear threat, any changes in the U.S. military posture without South Korea`s agreement might result in dangerous consequences on the Korean Peninsula,” he added.

However, with regard to the relocation of the U.S. military base in Yongsan to somewhere outside of Seoul, he said that “the Korean government will work closely with the U.S. side to carry out the relocation plan in a swift manner.”

Later that day, the President met with accompanying businessmen over dinner and said that “the government will not exercise its influence on the personnel management of domestic banks. In addition, in two or three years, the government will establish a new system to properly address labor-management disputes.”

The President spoke to reporters on his way to the U.S. and commented on ways of settling the North Korean nuclear issue. “To bring peace to the Korean Peninsula and the world as a whole, North Korea has to give up its nuclear weapons` development programs and dismantle any previously possessed nuclear materials,” Mr. Roh said. “This is South Korea and the US` shared position on the issue. I will reaffirm this position once again when I meet with the Mr. Bush.”

He added that “there is a slight difference in our two nations` position on how to dismantle those nuclear materials.”

This is the first time that the President used the word “dismantling nuclear materials” which means he is now taking a tougher stance on the North`s possession of nuclear weapons. Previously, the President said that South Korea would not “accept” North Korea`s possession of nuclear weapons.

Jeong-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com