By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter


All eyes and ears were on the television well into the late afternoon Wednesday as South Korea was holding its breath, watching the political fortunes of the two candidates in the U.S. presidential election go through a wild rollercoaster ride.

With the political pendulum swung in favor of U.S. President George W. Bush in the hard-fought presidential race against Sen. John Kerry, South Korea’s rival parties were abuzz, preparing for various scenarios and fallouts that may result from the election.

The ruling Uri Party decided to establish an intra-party committee to deal with U.S. policies on the Korean peninsula and head off any unexpected changes in U.S. policy toward North Korea.

The main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) will dispatch its delegation to the United States to expedite its efforts to reinforce Seoul-Washington ties. ``After the U.S. election takes shape completely, we will lose no time in figuring out any changes in the new administration’s North Korea policy,’’ said Rep. Park Jin, who heads the GNP’s foreign affairs committee.

A majority of lawmakers both from the ruling and opposition parties, however, cautiously forecast that Washington’s policy toward the Korean peninsula would not differ much.

In terms of policy, the two candidates offered some of the sharpest differences in many years on issues such as the U.S.-led war against terrorism, North Korea’s nuclear arms program and the U.S.’ place in the world.

Some lawmakers predicted a turbulent year following the election, cautiously predicting there could be more drastic changes in U.S. policy toward North Korea. ``There are views that the U.S. may take stronger measures against the North if Bush is reelected as U.S. president,’’ said a lawmaker on condition of anonymity.

A group of party officials appeared to be in favor of Kerry, apparently believing that his victory could help inject new momentum into the stalled six-way talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

With the prolonged standoff over the communist nation’s nuclear ambitions showing no signs of an immediate breakthrough, North Korea has been widely understood to be seeking postponement of the nuclear negotiations until after the U.S. presidential race, hoping that President Bush is voted out.

North Korea has long said it sees no point in talking about scrapping its nuclear programs until the U.S. drops what the communist nation describes as its ``hostile policy’’ towards it.

The ruling party is planning a series of meetings with government offices, starting with a policy coordination meeting with the Foreign Affairs-Trade Ministry next Monday, to display a nonpartisan diplomacy with the new U.S. administration, which will be inaugurated in January next year.

The Uri Party leadership will meet with Defense Ministry officials next Wednesday and officials from the Unification Ministry next Friday to listen to what kind of preparations the administration has come up with and see how the party can assist the government.

yoodh@koreatimes.co.kr