Missile test overshadows Roh's first day(Article)

Missile test overshadows Roh's first day By Andrew Ward in Seoul Published: February 25 2003 19:29 | Last Updated: February 25 2003 19:29 Roh Moo-hyun was given an early taste of the challenges he faces as South Korean president on Tuesday when his first day in office was overshadowed by North Korea's test-firing of a short-range missile into international waters. North Korea's flexing of its military muscle appeared timed to escalate tensions on the divided peninsula as Colin Powell, US secretary of state, and Junichiro Koizumi, Japan's prime minister, traveled to Seoul to attend Mr. Roh's inauguration. Mr. Powell refused to rise to North Korea's provocation, dismissing the test as "innocuous" and insisting that the US had no plans for military action against the communist country, which is suspected of developing nuclear weapons. He sought to underline Washington's peaceful intentions by announcing the resumption of US aid to ease worsening food shortages in North Korea. However, Pyongyang succeeded in stealing the limelight from Mr. Roh, who took the reigns of power from Kim Dae-jung, outgoing president, at a ceremony attended by 45,000 people in near-freezing temperatures outside South Korea's parliament in Seoul. South Korea's ministry of defense said the North had fired a ground-to-ship cruise missile with a range of 95km into the Sea of Japan, east of the peninsula, on Monday. The test was the latest in a series of aggressive actions and threats by North Korea, apparently designed to force Washington into negotiations while the US is weakened by its preoccupation with Iraq. Pyongyang wants security guarantees and economic assistance in return for abandoning its nuclear ambitions, but Washington says it will not submit to "nuclear blackmail". Mr. Powell was "not particularly disturbed" by Monday's missile test because it involved "old technology" and was part of normal North Korean military training. His comments suggested Washington was keen to resist Pyongyang's efforts to escalate the crisis. He sought to win regional support for a multilateral approach towards Pyongyang, but Seoul and Beijing continued to argue that Washington should accept Pyongyang's demand for bilateral talks. Mr. Roh said in his inauguration speech that North Korea "must abandon" its nuclear program, which "poses a grave threat to world peace". But he pledged to continue Seoul's "sunshine" policy of engagement with Pyongyang, arguing that peaceful dialogue was the best way to resolve the nuclear crisis. He promised to build a "compassionate society", with fewer inequalities, and pledged to tackle corruption and cronyism in the political and business communities. Some of the weaknesses that caused the country's 1997 financial crisis remained to be overcome through increased transparency and fairness in the economy, he said. Discussion: (1) Were you alarmed when you heard the news about North Korean missile? (2) What do you think about Mr. Powell’s comment? (3) Do you think there is any chance of war against North Korea after the US is done with Iraq? (4) What do you think about US backing off on North Korea right now? (5) What do you think of US using the humanitarian aid as a threat against North Korea? (6) Do you think President Roh is on the right track in supporting Sunshine Policy? ============================================ ▷◁ 대구지하철 희생자를 추모합니다!