NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Lee has also promised to review the North Korea policy of Roh, criticized for being too soft on the communist state whose government has continued to develop nuclear weapons and maintained a dismal human rights record."The way for North Korea to advance is to give up its nuclear programs," said Lee, who wants future aid far more closely linked to his hermit neighbor ending its atomic arms ambitions."If we try to point out North Korea's shortcomings with affection, I think that will go a long way toward improving North Korea's society."Some of Lee's first meetings were with ambassadors of the United States and Japan, key allies but with whom relations were at times tense under Roh's rule.A former CEO of the giant construction arm of the Hyundai Group, Lee's penchant for big public works projects and his can-do style earned him the nickname "the bulldozer."And he will be under strong pressure to show early successes with the economy, which is facing mounting competition from neighboring Japan and China and has struggled to encourage its own major companies to invest at home.Analysts say it was Lee's promise to boost the economy and his contrast to Roh that attracted voters to the father of four who rose from abject poverty to head, at the age of 36, what became one of the country's biggest construction firms.Despite his popularity, Lee has been dogged by allegations of involvement in a securities fraud, a problem that flared up again just before the election when a liberal-dominated parliament agreed a special investigator should look into the accusations.The investigation is unlikely to be completed before Lee's inauguration on February 25, when he will become immune from prosecution, but it could undermine his authority if any link to the fraud is established.President Roh is already under pressure from the conservative camp to veto the bill to set up a prosecutor and so allow Lee an easy ride into the presidency.But it is unlikely the liberals will give up their attack over the issue before parliamentary elections in April, when they stand to lose their majority in the National Assembly.
As in the days of Noah...