Bush says U.S., Roh will work 'together'

Congratulations came from international leaders to president-elect Roh Moo-hyun yesterday. Foreign leaders pledged to work with the new government for peace and stability in the East Asian region.

The White House issued a measured welcome, saying President George W. Bush looked forward to working closely with Mr. Roh to address "many challenges and opportunities we face together."

Mr. Roh replied in kind. "I hope to meet with President Bush soon to discuss issues we face," he told the U.S. Ambassador to Korea, Thomas Hubbard, who visited with the president-elect yesterday.

The spokesman for Mr. Roh's Millennium Democratic Party, Lee Nak-yon, said the two were not likely to meet before the president-elect takes office Feb. 25.

Asked whether Mr. Roh's victory would mean differences between Seoul and Washington over North Korea policy, the White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer, said the United States continued to support Seoul's policy of continuing discussions with the North.

Also congratulating Mr. Roh were Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and China's President Jiang Zemin.

Speaking to the JoongAng Ilbo in Washington, long-time Korea watchers saw an optimistic side to Mr. Roh's presidency. Joel Wit, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Mr. Roh's election might bring a "break" to the brewing crisis on the Korean Peninsula, as he may be less willing to agree to further suspension of aid to the North.

A former U.S. Ambassador to Korea, Donald Gregg, said Mr. Roh's election could bring a "fresh start" to the Bush administration's North Korea policy. Don Oberdorfer, a scholar at Johns Hopkins University, said he expected Mr. Roh to call for a change in U.S. relationships with Seoul and Pyeongyang.

by Kim Jin, Rah Hyun-cheol