Just words....Just words.

Ok. So I thought I’d open up this entry with a little political humor – referring to the jab Clinton threw at Obama on his alleged “plagiarism” gaffe.
All of this, of course, is just silliness if not pathetic in my opinion.

But for all of us interested in all things Korea, ANOTHER new president is coming to DC in 2009. And the implications of his role in the East Asian security landscape couldn’t be any more serious. Care to take a guess?

You guessed right (like I knew you would)! The inauguration of ROK President-elect Lee Myung-bak of the GNP is just around the corner on Feb 25th!

In anticipation of this event, I found this article from the Brookings Institute.
Like the next US president, Lee Myung-bak faces the challenge of reaching across party lines to mend the domestic political divide while implementing his strategy for a secure homeland.

I took immediate note of Lee Myung-bak’s commitment to strengthen a maligned US-ROK alliance. And it should be interesting, to say the least, to watch the new ROK president navigate through the murky waters of the secondary security alliance dilemma. Meaning, I wonder to what extent can Lee Myung-bak improve relations with the US and Japan w/out alarming China and the DPRK. Should the US place limits on cooperation with the ROK to mitigate/prevent any provocation of the Chinese? And how significant is the Koguryo controversy in guiding the ROK’s direction in foreign policy? Will this controversy unite a fractured populace and compel the ROK further towards the US and away from China?

I’m sure we all have many more questions.
And I hope OUR next president does too.