HONOLULU -- South Korea's new president, Roh Moo Hyun, hasn't had much of a honeymoon. Since taking office two months ago, he has had to navigate a nuclear crisis with North Korea. To do that, he has had to work closely with the United States, a difficult assignment in the best of times, but one that's even harder given the tide of anti-American sentiment that the president rode into office.
Still, Roh has made progress. If these first few weeks are any indication, then Roh may transform South Korean politics. If they are an anomaly, then his presidency will be a grim interlude.
Roh took office with lengthy list of disadvantages: He has lost many more elections than he has won; his country is bitterly divided (he won the presidency with a less than 3 percent margin); traditional regional cleavages persist; and generational differences have become increasingly sharp. His party, the Millennium Democratic Party, is a minority in the National Assembly, and it too is deeply divided.