Seoul would risk worsening ties with United States
Roh says some amazing stuff in the following text.
"President Roh's remarks help create the impression that a confrontation is developing between South Korea and China on the one side, and the United States on the other, over the future of the North Korean regime," it said.
-Am
Analysis: Roh in Iraq for role in N.Korea
By Jong-Heon Lee UPI Correspondent
Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun made a surprise visit on Wednesday to northern Iraq, where 3,600 South Korean troops are helping rebuild the war-torn country.
Roh's visit, which came on his way home from a trip to three European nations, was largely aimed at showing off his resolve to help the United States in the Iraqi issue in return for Seoul's leading role in addressing North Korea's nuclear issue, analysts say.
The trip to the troops in northern Iraqi town of Irbil came as South Korea's parliament committee approved a government proposal to extend the troop deployment in Iraq for another year despite public opposition.
Roh arrived in Kuwait on a special flight from Paris late Wednesday and then flew to Irbil on a military plane along with a small entourage, including several reporters.
Television footage showed Roh in the same sand-colored uniform as the soldiers eating breakfast with troops, who greeted his arrival with applause.
"Your presence and hard work here underline the nation's diplomatic power and potential. As the nation's political leader, I will also do my best," Roh told cheering solders.
"President Roh's Iraq visit is very significant in security ties between South Korea and the United States," said Kim Kyung-min, a professor at Hanyang University.
"The visit is aimed at demonstrating his resolve to help the United States in the Iraqi issue in an effort to win its concession in the North Korean nuclear question," said Lee Churl-ki, a professor at Dongguk University in Seoul.
Government officials praise Roh's diplomatic high-stake maneuver.
But some analysts and opinion leaders here express concerns that Seoul's moves towards a key role in the "internationalized" North Korean nuclear question may further distance South Korea from the U.S.-led allies due to differences over how to deal with the defiant communist nation.
Throughout the overseas tour that began on Nov. 28, Roh called for the United States to ease its hard-line stance toward North Korea, while urging Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table to find a breakthrough in the nuclear impasse.
Most of his remarks seemed targeted at neo-conservatives in the Bush administration who are calling for a tougher stance against North Korea to end its nuclear drive.
In his unique straightforward manner, Roh cautioned the United States against taking hard-line steps to resolve the nuclear impasse that could jeopardize peace and stability on the peninsula, saying North Korea would eventually make a "strategic" decision.
During a meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair last week, Roh said he was confident the nuclear crisis could be solved through talks because North Korea "wants reform and wants to open its door."
"North Korea is well aware that it needs support from South Korea, China, the United States and the international community to reform and open up," he said.
In his next stop in Poland, Roh ruled out a sudden breakdown of North Korea, saying any outside policies designed to engineer its collapse would only worsen the situations.
"It seems there's almost no possibility North Korea will collapse," he said in a speech in Warsaw, "because China is trying to prevent the breakdown of its neighbor since it would dump millions of refugees across the border," Roh said.
"Within the United States, there are many who call for a hard-line position, quite different from the attitude of the U.S. government. Besides resolving issues with dialogue, however, there isn't much room to choose," he said.
"The North Korean nuclear issue must be solved from the angle of the security and prosperity of the Korean people," Roh said.
Roh's warning for U.S. hard-liners was highlighted during his visit to France this week.
"If the South Korean government has to get red in the face at someone (in disputes over North Korea), we have no other way but to do so," he said, indicating Seoul would risk worsening ties with the United States to block tougher policies from neo-conservatives in the Bush administration.
"North Korea feels uneasy and a sense of crisis as the United States and some other Western countries think the North Korean regime should collapse," he said at a speech in Paris.
The United States and other countries, which are still hoping for the North Korean government to collapse, make it difficult for the North's nuclear weapons issue to be resolved peacefully, he said.
Earlier last month, during a visit to Los Angeles, Roh said North Korea's main concern is the safety of its regime, and that the nuclear program is to safeguard it, calling for the Bush administration to "new measures" to guarantee the security of North Korea.
In a speech there, Roh also said there was no evidence linking North Korea to terrorist organizations, a direct blast of the United States, which has designated North Korea as a terror sponsoring country since 1987.
Seoul officials defended Roh's controversial remarks as a move to play a greater role in resolving North Korea's nuclear standoff.
"Now, it is high time for South Korea to boost its role in North Korea's nuclear issue," Cho Tae-yong, chief of Seoul's task force for the nuclear dispute. "We could no loner remain sidelined over the North's nuclear issue," another Foreign Ministry official said.
"The series of President Roh's remarks made during overseas trips seemed well coordinated with his security team," said Kim Ki-jung, a Yonsei University professor. "The remarks overseas seemed aimed at heralding his intention of a greater role in addressing the North Korean nuclear issue," he said.
But critics say Roh's remarks could hurt policy coordination with the United States and Japan to curb Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.
"For the South Korean president to openly discuss North Korea's unavoidable collapse or the impossibility of this happening would narrow the width of maneuvering in Seoul's policy toward North Korea," Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's largest newspaper, said in an editorial.
"President Roh's remarks help create the impression that a confrontation is developing between South Korea and China on the one side, and the United States on the other, over the future of the North Korean regime," it said.
Another mass-circulation, Dong-A Ilbo, stressed that close coordination with the United States is more important for South Korea than seeking a greater role.
"No doubt, the role of the United States is critical in ending the North Korean nuclear question," it wrote in an editorial.
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