A more detailed read of the coverage of the Bush-Roh meet confirms my original impression: nothing of much interest was reported at the time. In the coming days, we may learn more. I pity the journalists who had to try to find comment among the bromides and pablum that presidents and their staffs emit during press conferences, so take my cynicism for what it is–cheap and easy.
Easiest Story to Have Written Last Week: The Associated Press, via Fox. You know the White House and State are tightly in control of their message when they constrict everything newsworthy out of the story: Both sides emphasized importance of a diplomatic solution . . . committed to preserving peace . . . of one mind in our agreement that North Korea must disarm . . . our aliance remains strong . . . . I give it a four out of a possible five yadas.
Most Awkwardly Disingenous Exchange: President Roh and President Bush, via the Associated Press.
After his remarks to reporters, Roh turned to Bush, seated beside him, and posed a question: “How do you feel, Mr. President? Wouldn’t you agree that the alliance is strong?”
“I would say the alliance is very strong, Mr. President,” Bush responded. “And I want to thank you for your frank assessment of the situation on the peninsula.”
Runner Up: President Bush, via The New York Times.
“The president and I had a very long discussion about very important issues, and we’ll continue this discussion over lunch,” Mr. Bush said. He said he and the South Korean leader were able to have such a serious discussion “because we’re strategic partners and allies and friends.”
Despite the fact that North Korea presents the most significant nuclear proliferation threat since the end of the Cold War, Bush’s track record on this issue is one of inaction and division,” the [Democratic National Committee] said in a statement. “Even as the Bush administration claims to be making progress, the increasingly dangerous situation in North Korea continues to worsen.”
But Mr. Roh (pronounced Noh) has opposed a move toward sanctions that would cut off trade with North Korea, arguing instead for more engagement with the North. Nothing emerged at the question-answer session today to indicate any lessening of the differences between Washington and Seoul on that point.
Differences between Washington and Seoul on how to settle the long-running North Korean saga are likely to be publicly set aside so the leaders can present a united front and reaffirm their commitment to a diplomatic resolution.
Good call.
Best Gratuitous Editorial Comments / Tie for Best Coverage Overall: “Analysts,” via Reuters. Reuters had two reports. This one covered the Roh-Bush meet, as well as other significant issues: U.S. troop reductions, beef imports, and a few highlights of Ambassador Chris Hill’s testimony before the Senate. They also caught Bush’s pullback from the threat of sanctions. The report also gets bonus points for these grafs:
Analysts saw North Korea’s signal to Washington that it is willing to return to the talks — possibly within weeks — as a tactic to buy time and block the United States from referring the issue to the U.N. Security Council.
South Korea was uncharacteristically cautious on Wednesday, saying it would be a tough task to convince Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambitions. Asked in parliament if it was too early to judge whether North Korea had made a tactical shift or was stalling for time, South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said: “Yes, it is.”
Admittedly, I would have preferred knowing who the “analysts” were, but hey, the analysts are right. I came very close to calling this the best coverage on depth and breadth. If they had the column space some of their competitors had, I might have given it to them.
Selig Harrison, a veteran Korea expert who has visited the reclusive communist state nine times, wrote in The Washington Post on Friday that hard-liners have been on the ascendancy in North Korea. It can be reversed only if the United States makes a fresh start “attuned to the conciliatory engagement approach” now being pursued by Roh, Harrison wrote.
This would be the other Reuters story. Mustwe hear from Selig Harrison every time Korea comes up? Does Selig Harrison have a direct intercom to the Press Club with mikes in every room of his apartment? Can’t we at least get a balancing quotation from Amb. James Lilley or Balbina Hwang? There has to be a way to flag the readers to the fact that Harrison is more than just a neutral “expert,” he’s so far out on the extreme that he makes Jack Pritchard look like a centrist.
The two men and their top aides met for 50 minutes in the Oval Office and then held a working lunch, where they exchanged detailed — and sometimes different — assessments of North Korean behavior and covered a range of bilateral and regional issues, U.S. and Korean officials said.
Second, he caught the key events leading up to the meeting that put the diplospeak into their proper context:
A senior South Korean official said Roh was referring to a debate over a joint military plan known as OPLAN 5029, which prepares for the collapse of North Korea. The Pentagon has had extremely difficult negotiations with South Korea over the plan, and earlier this year senior South Korean officials vetoed it, saying that giving command authority to the U.S. military would limit South Korean sovereignty.
Earlier this week, South Korean newspapers said that a senior defense official, Richard P. Lawless Jr., privately threatened while visiting Seoul to withdraw U.S. troops from the peninsula over the dispute. Bush and Roh agreed the matter should be settled by aides at lower levels, officials said.
This does not change the fact that I despise Glenn Kessler’s reporting. The fact that my expectations were so low must have played a role in my assessment.
Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung on Monday publicly pondered keeping Korea’s Zaytun Division in Iraq after its mandate expires at the end of the year. The unit’s mandate was already extended for a year longer than originally planned. “It appears Iraq will need multinational troops until the middle of next year to secure its own security and defense capabilities,” Yoon told the National Assembly’s Defense Committee. “It’s highly likely we’ll submit an extension motion at the end of the year.”