Posted April. 17, 2005 23:22,
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.