The US and Japan yesterday welcomed conservative Lee Myung-bak's election as president of South Korea, expressing hope that the new leader would be firmer on North Korea after a decade of liberal rule in Seoul.
Japanese newspapers expected greater cooperation among Seoul, Tokyo and Washington with the departure of left-leaning President Roh Moo-hyun, who has pursued a "sunshine" policy of reconciliation with the North.
Lee, a former top Hyundai executive who will be the first businessman to lead South Korea, promised yesterday to press the North to improve human rights, saying: "In inter-Korean relations, we should not shy away from criticism."
Lee met yesterday with the US and Japanese ambassadors in Seoul, and US President George W. Bush was reportedly set to telephone him later yesterday.
Bush "looks forward to working with him and maintaining good US-South Korean relations," Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman, said in Washington.
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda also congratulated Lee and said he hoped to work with him on the "further development in amicable, cooperative relations."
Lee told US Ambassador Alexander Vershbow that "the South Korea-US relationship for the past five years has not gone completely bad, but lacked sufficient trust between the two," Lee's adviser, Yim Sungbin said.
Roh rose to power in 2003 amid a wave of public anger after two schoolgirls were killed in a traffic accident involving a vehicle of US troops based in South Korea.
Roh has clashed with the US over North Korea policy, although he also sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and pursued a controversial free-trade deal with the US.
"I think everybody in Tokyo and Washington is happy to see the back of Roh Moo-hyun," said Robert Dujarric, a North Korea watcher at Temple University in Tokyo.
But he cautioned that conservatives in the US should not hope for a U-turn in the policy of engaging the North launched by Roh's Nobel Prize-winning predecessor Kim Dae-jung.
"The debate in South Korea is over the nature and the extent of the engagement. Nobody wants to see North Korea go down the drain," Dujarric said.
Japan's chief government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura said that Tokyo and Seoul "share fundamental values and share an agenda with important issues."
Roh was a fiery critic of Japan over its wartime aggression and sounded alarm bells over Tokyo's claims to a disputed set of islets in the Sea of Japan.
Also see: President congratulates winner of S Korea poll
Also see: Lee vows to revitalize S Korea
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external