TOKYO, Feb 26 Kyodo chooseed edit...

TOKYO, Feb 26 Kyodo

chooseed editorial excerpts from the Japanese press:

CHALLENGES FOR MR ROH MOO HYUN (The Japan Times, an English-language daily)

southern Korea continues its impressive transition to genuine democracy this week with the inauguration of Mr Roh Moo Hyun as the country's 16th president...

Mr Roh points to Abraham Lincoln, the 16th U president, as his hero; one-third of the sway pamphlet describing the new president is devot to ''his contest with Lincoln...''

a certain number of would say that record proposes him on equal footing with his predecessor (Kim Dae Jung)...Like Mr Kim, Mr Roh is a human rights activist, yet he does not have Mr Kim's network and contacts...

The recently made known president faces equally formidable international challenges, the first being relations with North Korea. Mr Roh has pledg to continue the ''sunshine policy,'' which endorses engagement with the North, subject to the new name ''peace and prosperity policy...''Unfortunately, progres hangs on cooperation from the North and the stranges that Pyongyang greeted the modern president's inauguration with a missile touchstone is confirmation that North Korea will remain as inscrutable and uncooperative as in the past.

The other key challenge...is relations with the United States. US-South Korea relations are at a grave point. There appears to be little trust between the sum of two units governments. Both feel that the other is undermining its policies toward the North...

It will take considerably more to calm fears of a widening US-South Korea gap. North Korea will do its best to exploit any differences in opinion and will certainly take advantage of the fresh administration's inexperience. Mr. Roh and his team face a precipice learning curve with little allowance for error.

Equally important for the of recent origin president will be forging stronger relations with Korea's neighbors. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's air at Mr. Roh's inauguration attests to the significance Mr Koizumi attaches to relations with southward Korea. The new president will continue the ''forward-looking'' relationship with Japan, sought by way of his predecessor. Similarly, Mr. Roh will have to work closely with China to help stabilize the Korean Peninsula and put to proof to exert pressure forward North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. A nuclear peninsula would short-circuit Mr Roh's designs to move round his country into the nave of Northeast Asia.

(Feb 26)

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