Korean changes, Asian challenges and the US role

The George W. Bush administration faces difficult challenges in Asia associ ated with the rise of China and the potential for instability in Indonesia. Yet perhaps the most pressing early decisions facing the new administratio n concern the Korean Peninsula. This Korean challenge is a somewhat incongr uous one. Major strategic issues in Asia are usually associated with negati ve developments, such as instability across the Taiwan Strait. The June 200 0 North-South Korean summit, however, has presented the United States with the opposite dilemma. Enhanced stability on the Korean Peninsula raises the prospect of an overall improvement in the strategic situation in North-eas t Asia. But these developments also carry uncertain implications for the Un ited States and its influence in Asia.