Bush, North Korea and Iran are Non-democratic Countries

On February 1 (Korean time), U.S. President George W. Bush made it clear that the “spread of freedom and democracy” will be pursued as a major goal of U.S. foreign policies in this year, adding, “At the start of 2006, more than half the people of our world live in democratic nations. And we do not forget the other half -- in places like Syria and Burma, Zimbabwe, North Korea, and Iran --.”

In his State of the Union speech on February 1, President Bush said, “The demands of justice and the peace of this world require their freedom, as well,” and “Our nation is committed to a historic, long-term goal -- we seek the end of tyranny in our world.”

He added, “Some dismiss that goal as misguided idealism. However, on September 11, 2001, we found that our security is threatened not by competing super powers but by terrorist groups which failed regimes shelter.”

Generally, U.S. presidents’ State of the Union speeches gives hints at the direction of the management of state affairs for the year. Therefore, as President Bush reiterated the principle of “spread of freedom and democracy” through his State of the Union speech, it is expected that the United States will continue to apply high pressures on North Korea over issues such as nuclear development, improvement in human rights, and dollar counterfeiting that is allegedly being conducted by the North Korean regime.

However, in this year’s State of the Union speech, President Bush did not separately mention North Korean nuclear and human rights issues while he strongly criticized the Iranian leadership for its clandestine nuclear development program. In his five State of the Union speeches since 2002, President Bush used such terms as “axis of evil” (2002) and “outlaw regime” (2003) to describe North Korea.

President Bush warned, “America is addicted to oil” in this era of high oil prices. He emphatically said, “By developing alternative energy sources and expanding nuclear generation, America can reduce its excessive dependence on foreign energy resources.”

Seung-Ryun Kim srkim@donga.com