Bush Discusses North Korea with APEC Leaders

The fact that South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun told President Bush that his country will not be joining the US effort to inspect North Korean ships is getting a lot of play on the US news channels as if this is some kind of surprise when anyone with any passing interest in Korean affairs could have told you that South Korea would not inspect South Korean ships. The excuses from South Korea are so typical:

Roh said he would not join completely in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative, a voluntary program of about 80 countries that calls for stopping ships suspected of trafficking in weapons of mass destruction. Roh, however, said Seoul supports the principles and goals of the system.

Hadley said there were special circumstances for South Korea remaining out of the program.

“But short of that, they have made clear to us … that they fully support” the U.N. Security Council sanctions and “that they will cooperate to ensure that equipment related to weapons of mass destruction does not get into North Korea and does not get out of North Korea,” Hadley said.

If I only had a dollar for everytime the “special situation” or in this case “special circumstances” line was used to explain away South Korean policies I would be a very rich man. At least Bush and new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are getting off on a good foot:

Bush felt that he and Abe “saw eye-to-eye” on North Korea, Hadley said. He also tried to play down differences with South Korea.

In other words nothing new on the North Korean issue came from this APEC meeting even though everyone will pretend something was accomplished.