1/ I arrived in Seoul on June 16, 2000 to speak the next day at a Korean Political Science Association conference - one day after the 1st inter-Korean summit. I very well remember the US was not thrilled with the summit because it did not want the ROK to get out ahead of the US
2/ with North Korea. Nonetheless, Vice Marshal Jo met with President Clinton in early October 2000, and Secretary of State Albright made a reciprocal trip to Pyongyang late that month and met with Kim Jong Il. Of the three reasons Clinton did not visit Pyongyang by the end of his
3/ term, the main one was the undecided presidential election for 36 days. Then things went downhill with George W. Bush, who stiffed Kim Dae Jung in March 2001 in his visit to Washington and then declared NK part of the "axis of evil." So, as President Moon speaks to the nation
4/ in a few minutes, I don't blame his administration in its policy toward the North. Success in inter-Korean relations has always largely been influenced by the attitude and effort made by the United States. But if the US slowly withdraws from East Asia and Europe, both Koreas
5/ will have to make new calculations as to how to proceed individually - and perhaps in tandem - in a Northeast Asia where China will want to have the final say.
