Impact of aborted Clinton visit to N.K.

Although the Foreign Affairs-Trade Ministry said that the abandonment of a tentative plan for U.S. President Bill Clinton to visit North Korea was a foregone conclusion due to the prolonged legal dispute over the U.S. presidential election and sluggish progress in Pyongyang-Washington talks on the missile issue, ministry officials here said that, had Clinton visited the North, the occasion could have provided needed momentum for peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.

Despite the ministry's official comment, ministry officials had mixed feelings on Clinton's tentative plans to visit Pyongyang. In general, ministry officials supported the proposed trip, but they also entertained some apprehension.

Most officials felt that talks by the U.S. president with the North Korean leadership would have paved the way for the reclusive state to join the international community. It was with this purpose in mind that President Kim Dae-Jung asked Clinton to visit Pyongyang on many occasions.

On the other hand, some officials expressed concerns that if Clinton's proposed North Korean visit ended up as a "diplomatic event" intended only to stand as the crowning achievement of the Clinton administration, it would serve only to place a heavy political burden on Korea-U.S. relations.

Had Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Wendy Sherman, state department coordinator on North Korean affairs, pushed ahead with the Clinton visit as a "last gift" to the outgoing president, the event would have bolstered Pyongyang's leadership and thus had a potentially negative effect on inter-Korean relations.

To ensure that the abandonment of Clinton's hoped-for visit to North Korea does not adversely affect the mood of detente on the Korean peninsula, it is hoped that President Kim will hold a summit with new president George W. Bush at an early date and strengthen mutual policy coordination toward Pyongyang.