S. Korean president-elect to work with U.S. on nuclear issue

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea's president-elect, who has said he would be more assertive in relations with the United States, promised Friday to work with Washington to resolve concerns about North Korea's nuclear weapons development.

Roh Moo-hyun was declared winner in elections Thursday that took place amid rising anti-U.S. sentiment in South Korea. During the election campaign, Roh said he was not anti-American, but insisted he would not "kowtow" to his country's chief ally.

On the morning after his victory, Roh said the traditional friendship between South Korea and the United States must "mature and advance."

Many experts have said Roh's stance seeking engagement with North Korea would clash with Washington's tougher approach with Pyongyang, which said last week that it would revive a frozen nuclear power plant previously suspected of being used to make weapons.

But Roh on Friday promised cooperation with Washington.

"In order to resolve peacefully the problem related to North Korea's nuclear development, we will take initiatives through close cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the United States," he told a news conference at the National Assembly.

Roh also indicated that he would push for changes in the Status of Forces Agreement -- the legal code governing the 37,000 U.S. soldiers stationed in South Korea and a key source of friction in relations. Tens of thousands of young South Koreans held street protests in recent weeks in connection to the U.S. military presence.

"I will convey to the current Korean government and the U.S. government the sincere expectations of the Korean people and my own positions concerning the amendments to the Status of Forces Agreement," he said.

Roh, a 56-year-old human rights lawyer, narrowly defeated opposition leader Lee Hoi-chang, a conservative whose tough stance on North Korea may have cost support among young voters who view him as closely aligned with U.S. policy.

Some South Koreans view President Bush as an obstacle to reconciliation on the divided Korean Peninsula.

Roh has never traveled to the United States and has accused past South Korean leaders of "groveling" before their U.S. counterparts. As an activist in his younger days, he called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, but he now says they should stay.

At the White House, press secretary Ari Fleischer said President Bush "warmly congratulates" Roh. The U.S. State Department dismissed Roh's tough talk on the campaign trail and said it expects even closer ties between Washington and Seoul.

Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly said the United States hopes "to further modernize and improve this alliance."

"There are statements made in the heat of the campaign that may emphasize disagreement and there are others that emphasize a very strong convergence of views about a lot of things," he said.

At his campaign headquarters Thursday night, Roh told cheering supporters he would "try to become a president not just for the people who supported me, but also for the people who opposed me in the election." He did not discuss relations with the United States in the speech.

One of Roh's priorities will be to demand more South Korean jurisdiction over American troops. Anti-U.S. protests were triggered by the recent acquittals in U.S. military trials of two soldiers whose armored vehicle hit and killed two South Korean teenage girls in a road accident.

The soldiers were cleared of negligent homicide charges, but South Koreans believed the trials were unfair and that the soldiers should have been tried in a South Korean court. U.S. military officials apologized repeatedly for the deaths.

"I think many people believed South Korea needed a kind of man like Roh as president following the acquittals of the two American soldiers," said Im Soon-yi, 40, an office worker.

Another potential source of conflict with the United States is how to deal with communist North Korea.

U.S. officials have ruled out talks with the North unless it abandons its nuclear ambitions, including a separate nuclear program based on uranium enrichment. Roh, however, has said he would continue the "sunshine" engagement policy of outgoing President Kim Dae-jung, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in part for his efforts to reconcile with the North.

"Roh's policy toward North Korea does not quite go with the U.S. approach," said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korea studies at Dongguk University in Seoul. "Roh is likely to choose reconciliation with North Korea, instead of closer ties with the United States."

With about 99.9 percent of the votes counted from Thursday's balloting, Roh had 48.9 percent and Lee 46.6 percent. Turnout among the nation's 35 million eligible voters was 70.2 percent, almost 11 percent lower than in the 1997 presidential election.

President Kim's five-year term ends in February. Under South Korean law, he was barred from seeking re-election.