President Lee: Obama Will Not Overlook North Korean Human Rights<\/p>\n
President Lee Myung Bak predicts that North Korean human rights issues will be brought to the discussion table because the next Obama administration will not neglect such issues. <\/p>\n
President Lee, during a joint interview with Chosun Ilbo, Japan\u2019s Mainich Daily News and the U.K.\u2019s Times on the 9th at the Blue House, said that, \u201cNorth Korea should not think lightly of the fact that Obama was elected as the next U.S. President. It will do North Korea more good to take a more serious and proactive position [on every North Korea-related issue with the next administration].\u201d <\/p>\n
President Lee, regarding Obama\u2019s policy plans for North Korea, furthermore said that, \u201cBoth of us may be able to negotiate better than the Bush administration. The Bush administration seemed to rush the process towards the end of its term.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI do not oppose the possibility of a summit between the U.S. and North Korea\u2019s Kim Jong Il if it helps to denuclearize North Korea. The U.S. and North Korea will eventually undertake full-negotiations, whether it is via separate meetings with North Korea or some other way\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
He furthermore added that \u201cThe North Korean nuclear issue will be dealt with within the Six Party Talks\u2019 framework. However, cooperative efforts to solve this issue by the U.S. and North Korea will help to achieve the results of the Six Party Talks.\u201d <\/p>\n
Regarding the possible shift of the U.S–South Korea alliance due to the differences in Obama and Bush administrations, President Lee commented that not much will change because, whether a president is Democrat or Republican, the foremost goal of foreign policy is to achieve the U.S.\u2019 national interests. <\/p>\n
President Lee, mentioning his phone conversation with President-elect Obama, said that \u201cIt can be seen that Obama is sensitive to Asia\u2019s affairs due to the fact that he researched many things (such as President Lee\u2019s Hyundai resume) to have one conversation with me. Obama grew up with many people from Asia around him so he has a deep understanding of Asians.\u201d <\/p>\n
Regarding the KOR-U.S. FTA, President Lee said that \u201cThe KOR-US FTA is not advantageous for just one country. It is advantageous for the both of us economically and in terms of strengthening the alliance. Especially regarding the automobile issues, both nations have already renegotiated during the negotiation process.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI have also taken up where our previous administration left off, and Obama also will continue where the Bush administration will leave off. The Obama administration will come to an understanding after carefully examining this issue after taking office\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
He also presumes that \u201cThe FTA will possibly be ratified in the end because many Democrat congressmen recognize the importance of the KOR-US FTA.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Lee: Obama Will Not Overlook North Korean Human Rights President Lee Myung Bak predicts that North Korean human rights issues will be brought to the discussion table because the next Obama administration will not neglect such issues. President Lee, during a joint interview with Chosun Ilbo, Japan\u2019s Mainich Daily News and the U.K.\u2019s Times […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":7851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n