SEOUL, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- South Korean officials were very cautious when they were waiting for the outcome of the closely contested U.S. presidential election, refraining from making any prediction or comments.
They remained tight-lipped even when world leaders rushed to hail the re-election of President George W. Bush after he declared victory over Democratic opponent Sen. John Kerry.
It was Thursday morning when the South Korean government made its first reaction to Bush's victory, only after Kerry conceded defeat in make-or-break Ohio rather than launch a legal fight and Bush made a speech to officially declare his re-election.
In a congratulatory message, President Roh Moo-hyun said his government "wholeheartedly welcomes the re-election of incumbent President Bush."
"The re-election of U.S. President Bush will serve as an occasion for the two countries to deepen their comprehensive and dynamic partnership," said the message read by the presidential spokesman.
Seoul's cautious attitude reflects its concerns that it may be at odds with Washington over how to realign American troops in South Korea and resolve North Korea's nuclear crisis.
Seoul officials have said there would be no major policy changes in the United States toward the Korean peninsula whoever wins the presidential election, but no doubt they hoped to see Kerry win the poll because he had pledged, if elected, to be more flexible in handling North Korea's nuclear issue.
Kerry contended the Bush administration has mishandled the North Korea problem and pledged to accept Pyongyang's long-running demand of one-on-one talks to end the two-year-old nuclear impasse, while Bush vowed to maintain his tough stance against the North.
South Korea has hoped the United States would ease its hard-line stance toward North Korea that could raise tensions on the peninsula and have more patience to resolve the nuclear standoff peacefully through dialogue.
Seoul also hoped the United States to delay its plan to scale down American troops presence in South Korea facing lingering threats from the communist neighbor. The United States plans to withdraw 12,500 of its 37,500 troops from South Korea by 2008, three years behind its original schedule.
South Korean officials are concerned that the conservative U.S. leader backed by the expanded Republican control of Congress may flex muscles to end the nuclear standoff with North Korea.
That seems why Roh did not join Asian leaders who hailed Bush's re-election as a victory for the global war on terror, just attributing the victory to his "strong leadership in the past four years."
In the congratulatory message, Roh expressed hope that the Bush administration would "cooperate with its allies to secure peace and prosperity in the world and on the Korean peninsula." He pledged to continue close cooperation with the Bush government in resolving the North Korean nuclear arms issue peacefully.
Roh and other officials expressed confidence in better relations between South Korea and the United States and about their partnership in resolving North Korea's nuclear crisis peacefully during Bush's second term.
"I am confident that the South Korea-U.S. alliance will develop in an even more solid and future-oriented manner," Roh said in a message to a ceremony marking the founding anniversary of the South Korea-U.S. joint military command in Seoul.
Bush is expected to appoint more-hawkish security officials, which may raise military tensions on the Korean peninsula, they say.
"The Bush administration is likely to step up efforts to end the North's nuclear standoff as part of much-touted campaigns against terrorism," said Ha Young-sun, an international relations professor at Seoul National University. "The United States and North Korea are most likely to be engaged in a bigger conflict," he said.
In a sign of tougher stance against North Korea, Bush, in a victory speech, vowed to place top policy priority on prosecuting the global fight against terrorism "with every resource of our national power" and with "good allies."
North Korea has been placed on the list after it was found to have been involved in the 1987 bombing of a South Korean airliner in which 115 passengers and crew were killed. Bush has branded the defiant Stalinist nation a member of an "axis of evil" along with Iran and pre-war Iraq.
Ha and other analysts raise the possibility that Washington will bring the North Korea's nuclear issue to the United Nations Security Council and impose tougher economic sanctions on the cash-strapped country if Pyongyang rejects demand of nuclear disarmament.
For fear of higher nuclear tensions on the peninsula, South Korean officials have moved to persuade North Korea to respond to the U.S. presidential election by giving up its nuclear weapons programs.
Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said South Korea would use the next round of six-party nuclear talks to persuade North Korea to comply with international calls for nuclear disarmament. The six parties are North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States.
"At the next round of six-party talks, we will strongly urge North Korea to make a bold strategic decision concerning the issue of the dismantlement of its nuclear programs," Ban said in testimony to the National Assembly.
Three rounds of six-nation talks have taken place in Beijing on curbing North Korea's nuclear ambitions, but with no breakthroughs. A fourth round of meeting planned for September did not happen, as North Korea refused to attend due to what it called the U.S.'s "hostile" policy against Pyongyang. North Korea has yet to comment on Bush's re-election.
"I expect the second Bush administration will continue with its foreign policy of giving priority to the war against terrorism and the prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," Ban said.
Roh plans to use planned summit talks with Bush later this month to closely discuss ways to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue peacefully. Roh and Bush are scheduled to have one-on-one summit meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Santiago, Chile, on Nov. 19-20, according to Chung Woo-seong, senior presidential adviser on foreign affairs.
Many analysts say the summit would be a crucial meeting that could determine the relations between the two countries for the next four years and the fate of North Korea's nuclear dispute.
