Focus on Removing U.S` Misunderstandings about Anti-American Sentiment

President-elect Roh Moo-hyun`s camp has reportedly decided to send a delegation including his special envoy to Washington late this month to remove Washington’s misunderstandings of him, show his willingness to strengthen the US-South Korean relations, and convey his principle of peaceful resolution of the North Korea nuclear crisis.

The 6-member delegation including Chung Dae-chul, a supreme council member, the presidential transition team’s members for diplomacy, security and unification affairs, Cho Sun-seung, former lawmaker and chairman of the special committee for North Korea’s nuclear issues at the Millennium Democratic Party, held a meeting on the evening of Saturday and made the decision.

An official who attended the meeting said the primary goal of the delegation to Washington is to remove any misunderstandings that US president Bush has and to deliver Mr. Roh`s position to the United States. With regard to the North’s nuclear ambition, the delegation would just clarify the principle of peaceful resolution, not suggesting any detailed measures, he added.

For the "horizontal relations between Korea and the US," which Mr. Roh has put emphasis on, the visiting team will stress it means the two countries should make efforts together to establish a relation appropriate for a new era, not a unilateral demand for change on the US side, according to another attendee.

In an interview with BBS on Sunday, the presidential envoy, Chung Dae-chul, said, "Some people in Washington suspect that anti-American sentiment after two school girls were hit and killed by a US armored vehicle and recent candle-lit vigils are related to the arriving president. So we will convey that it is not our policy to Washington."

Also, Mr. Roh is reported to make comments on the three-point message in a direct or indirect manner at his meeting with the US assistant secretary of state for East Asia Pacific affairs, James Kelly, on Monday morning.

The assistant secretary is scheduled to have a press conference right after his meeting with the President-elect and have other meetings with Choi Sung-hong, minister of foreign affairs and trade, and some Cheong Wa Dae high-ranking officials on Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the President-elect met with the visiting French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, and said, "Korea agrees on the position that North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons cannot be tolerated with the international community. South Korea will consult with the US and Japan within the cooperative framework and in particular, consult with the US in all sincerity."

Hyung-gwon Pu bookum90@donga.com