Quotations of the day

¡°Criticism of the U.S. should be differentiated from anti-American sentiment.¡± Chong Wa Dae spokesman Park Joon-Young, voicing President Kim¡¯s concern with a recent rise in anti-Americanism in Korea at a briefing today.

¡°Let`s talk on a more comfortable `sofa` next time instead of these hard chairs.¡± Song Min-Soon, head of the Foreign Affairs Ministry`s North American Affairs Bureau, making a play on words in his meeting today with Frederick Smith, head of the U.S. delegation negotiating the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Korea.

¡°The golfing excursion with former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone is part of his official schedule.¡± Kim Chong-Ho, the United Liberal Democrats` (ULD) acting president, defending honorary ULD chairman Kim Jong-Pil Wednesday against accusations that he mixes politics with his frequent golf trips.

¡°He should be viewed as a political defiant who stuck to his beliefs instead of an incompetent businessman.¡± Baik Ki-Seung, part of the Daewoo Group`s restructuring body, in his soon-to-be-published book, claiming that the conglomerate was dissolved because Daewoo Chairman Kim Woo-Joong refused to strike any political deals.