South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's Washington summit meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush was not the unqualified success Kim had hoped for, but he did accomplish his primary objectives. As expected and desired, Bush endorsed Kim's Sunshine Policy of reconciliation and cooperation with North Korea, praising Kim for his "vision" in beginning a dialogue with Pyongyang. Bush also reaffirmed the U.S.-South Korea security relationship and the U.S.-South Korea-Japan trilateral dialogue process aimed at coordinating policies toward North Korea.

Bush also referred to Kim as a "realist," a comment that should help the latter deal with increasing domestic skepticism, not about engagement per se but about his approach to the North, which critics say offers to much and receives too little in return. To Kim's discomfort, Bush publicly registered his own skepticism toward North Korea, especially when it comes to U.S. negotiations with the North on missiles and other arms-control issues. While South Korean officials and sympathetic media outlets tried to stress the positive aspects of the meeting, most U.S. pundits and wire services stressed Bush's skepticism and his focus on North Korea as a "threat."

The latter is hardly news. The Clinton administration, even as it promoted increased dialogue with Pyongyang, continued to view North Korea as a "state of concern" -- their politically correct way of saying "rogue state" -- and the latest South Korea defense white paper also (correctly) identifies North Korea as the South's primary threat. This is why the two presidents, like all their predecessors, stressed the need for the strong military deterrence provided by the U.S.-South Korea alliance and the U.S. military presence in South Korea.