The historic reconciliation between North and South Korea is arguably the most exciting Asian development since the end of World War II. So why is the reaction from Tokyo and Washington so muted?
One reason is justified fear in both administrations that a united Korea would move to a neutral or even anti-Japan, pro-China position, thereby dealing a fatal blow to U.S. and Japanese strategies in East Asia. But another is simply the knee-jerk hawkishness that wants to see enemies on every side.
In the United States, some say North Korea's willingness to embrace South Korean President Kim Dae Jung could be simply a trick to get Seoul to evict U.S. forces and leave South Korea open to future attack (the same people once warned that the Gorbachev liberalization in the former Soviet Union was also a trick).