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Roh: “Koreans Who Are More Pro-American than Americans Are of Concern”

Roh: “Koreans Who Are More Pro-American than Americans Are of Concern”

Posted April. 17, 2005 23:22,   

한국어

“Some educated South Koreans who speak in a way more like Americans than Americans are of the greatest concern,” said President Roh Moo-hyun, who visited Turkey in the afternoon of April 16th (local time).

“Koreans should think and make judgments in a way like Koreans,” Roh added at a meeting with ethnic Koreans held in a Swiss hotel in Istanbul, Turkey. The remarks are interpreted as being aimed at recent criticisms that his northeast Asian “balancer” initiative might trigger rifts in the ROK-U.S. alliance.

“South Korea is gradually gaining a voice in the ROK-U.S. alliance,” said President Roh. “There is no problem in relations between South Korea and the United States. If the majority of the Korean people support the initiative, I will push for it regardless of criticism.”

He went on to say that “it is a role of a politician to persuade people in both Korea and the U.S., who put the US in the center of the alliance. Though I do my best, frankly speaking, I have insufficient capacity to do so. There are many people better than myself.”

President Roh Moo-hyun will complete his eight-day state visit to Germany and Turkey by departing Ataturk International Airport on April 17, and will return to Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Korea on the morning of April 18.



Jung-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com