The politics of South and North Korea have been greatly influenced by U.S. policy. What happens within South Korean politics is also important to policymakers in the United States. The start of the 21st century coincides with the inauguration of U.S. President George W. Bush. Among South and North Korean leaders, the birth of the Bush administration will not be widely welcomed. South Korea's Kim Dae Jung and North Korea's Kim Jong Il may suffer a bit as a result of the new administration.
There are more Korean experts among senior officials in the State Department and the National Security Council in Bush's administration than in Clinton's administration. The Clinton administration made ideal diplomacy the focus of its Korea policy, whereas the Bush administration is expected to take a more realistic policy line. This is likely to translate into no concessions regarding security issues, such as mass destructive weapons. On the other hand, the Bush administration is likely to be more cooperative in the area of food aid and business and cultural exchange with North Korea.
The newly appointed national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice of Stanford University, wrote an article in last year's Foreign Affairs, clearly indicating the need for re-examination of U.S. policy toward North Korea. Her article also criticized Clinton's diplomacy toward North Korea. I perused Professor Rice's article, for I took a course from her some years ago when I was a research fellow at Stanford. Rice's basic foreign policy premise is to take a nonconcessionary stance on issues related to military technology or security while launching dialogue on possible food assistance for North Korea or cultural exchange. Rice's suggestions are similar to the basis of President Ronald Reagan's foreign policy.