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Politics : The Donkey's Inn -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PartyTime who wrote (2838)	2/15/2002 12:58:41 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 15516

Bush's words change tone of Asia tour Fri Feb 15, 6:45 AM ET Laurence McQuillan USA TODAY WASHINGTON -- President Bush's decision to call North Korea part of an ''axis of evil'' looms over his visit to Asia next week. He will be enlisting support for the war on terrorism while trying to calm regional fears that the Korean peninsula may be the next battleground. Bush's trip to Japan, South Korea and China had been scheduled for last October but was postponed after the Sept. 11 attacks. As Bush departs, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll of 1,001 adults last weekend finds that 81% of Americans feel he is doing a good job representing U.S. interests to the world. But echoes from last month's State of the Union address, when Bush said North Korea, Iran and Iraq seek nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, are still reverberating in Asia. The blunt language is fueling fears of a U.S. confrontation with North Korea. ''Prior to the axis-of-evil speech, this was just a series of sleepy summits,'' says Victor Cha, a Georgetown University professor who specializes in U.S. alliances in Asia. ''Now . . . everybody wants to know whether this is just rhetoric or whether there really is a change in policy.'' White House officials say there's no shift in policy toward Pyongyang, but some acknowledge that the administration has sent confusing signals. A year ago, Secretary of State Colin Powell said talks with North Korea begun under President Clinton would continue. Then the White House forced him to recant. By June, a policy of engagement was back, only to be followed by Bush's tough words last month. In hopes of calming jitters in the region before Bush's arrival, Powell told Congress this week that Washington wants ''a dialogue'' with Pyongyang. ''There is no plan to begin a war with North Korea,'' he said. The president's agenda for each country: * Japan. Bush plans to praise the economic reforms of embattled Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, whose country is deep in recession and grappling with record unemployment. ''The time is ripe for Bush to go and put a positive spin on Japanese efforts,'' says Balbina Hwang, an expert on Asian issues at the Heritage Foundation. With unemployment at a postwar high, record numbers of bankruptcies last year, and open talk in financial circles of a ''March crisis'' when banks disclose their performance at the end of the fiscal year, a growing number of Japanese are uneasy with what they see as U.S.-style economic reform and with Koizumi's leadership. * South Korea. The focus will be on dealing with North Korea. Bush will say he supports South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's efforts to improve ties with North Korea and stress close U.S. ties with Seoul, U.S. officials say. The South Korean leader has complained that Bush has undercut his ''sunshine'' policy of engagement with the North. Bush is likely to face protests from unions and other groups upset with his rhetoric about the north. ''The axis-of-evil speech really rubbed the South Korean people the wrong way,'' Cha says. * China. The Chinese pressed for the visit, which comes on the 30th anniversary of President Nixon's historic trip to Beijing that ended decades of U.S.-Sino hostility. U.S. officials say Beijing has been helpful in providing intelligence on terrorism. Since Sept. 11, China and the United States have sought to avoid tensions. Beijing even remained quiet about reports that a special Boeing 767 for President Jiang Zemin arrived from the USA with dozens of listening devices hidden throughout it. Both sides will stress harmony, but wide differences remain. Bush's chief concern centers on China's providing technology to nations seeking weapons of mass destruction. Human rights abuses in China, particularly religious persecution, is another U.S. concern. Earlier this month, Beijing released a man who was sentenced to two years in prison for smuggling Bibles. Bush is expected to meet with Vice President Hu Jintao, the heir apparent to Jiang. U.S. officials say they know little about Hu, 59, and hope to use the exchange to size him up. A leadership change is set for the fall when the Chinese Communist Party's congress meets.