SEOUL -- "Things have begun moving slowly," South Korea's President Kim Dae Jung recently said in reaction to the Bush administration's announcement it will open negotiations with Pyongyang. No doubt, the government in Seoul is trying hard to sound upbeat. Foreign Minister Han Seung Soo added, "Bush's decision will help form a favorable atmosphere for the holding of a second summit" with North Korea.
While such announcements may make it sound like U.S.-South Korean disagreements over how to deal with the North Koreans have disappeared, in reality gaps remain.
Bush's statement signals a shift, at least on the surface. His administration's softer tone on the North Korean "rogues" shows that the Bush team finally seems to understand that it makes little sense to use hostile language in reference to a country or a government with which one is planning to diplomatically engage.