The US and Japan yesterday welcomed conservative Lee Myung-bak's election as president of South Korea, expressing hope that the new leader would be firmer on North Korea after a decade of liberal rule in Seoul.
Japanese newspapers expected greater cooperation among Seoul, Tokyo and Washington with the departure of left-leaning President Roh Moo-hyun, who has pursued a "sunshine" policy of reconciliation with the North.
Lee, a former top Hyundai executive who will be the first businessman to lead South Korea, promised yesterday to press the North to improve human rights, saying: "In inter-Korean relations, we should not shy away from criticism."
Lee met yesterday with the US and Japanese ambassadors in Seoul, and US President George W. Bush was reportedly set to telephone him later yesterday.
Bush "looks forward to working with him and maintaining good US-South Korean relations," Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman, said in Washington.
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda also congratulated Lee and said he hoped to work with him on the "further development in amicable, cooperative relations."
Lee told US Ambassador Alexander Vershbow that "the South Korea-US relationship for the past five years has not gone completely bad, but lacked sufficient trust between the two," Lee's adviser, Yim Sungbin said.
Roh rose to power in 2003 amid a wave of public anger after two schoolgirls were killed in a traffic accident involving a vehicle of US troops based in South Korea.
Roh has clashed with the US over North Korea policy, although he also sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and pursued a controversial free-trade deal with the US.
"I think everybody in Tokyo and Washington is happy to see the back of Roh Moo-hyun," said Robert Dujarric, a North Korea watcher at Temple University in Tokyo.
But he cautioned that conservatives in the US should not hope for a U-turn in the policy of engaging the North launched by Roh's Nobel Prize-winning predecessor Kim Dae-jung.
"The debate in South Korea is over the nature and the extent of the engagement. Nobody wants to see North Korea go down the drain," Dujarric said.
Japan's chief government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura said that Tokyo and Seoul "share fundamental values and share an agenda with important issues."
Roh was a fiery critic of Japan over its wartime aggression and sounded alarm bells over Tokyo's claims to a disputed set of islets in the Sea of Japan.
Also see: President congratulates winner of S Korea poll
Also see: Lee vows to revitalize S Korea
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS