THE OTHER KOREA

An American U2 surveillance plane crashed in Hwasung, South Korea Sunday. The Air Force pilot ejected safely; two buildings on the ground were destroyed and four South Koreans were injured, though not seriously. The pilot has apologized for the accident, saying he did all he could to steer his malfunctioning aircraft away from densely populated areas. The vice commander of the Seventh Air Force visited the injured Koreans, promising to spare no efforts in assisting them and ensuring that claims for personal injuries and property damage will be processed “quickly and effectively.”

Though harrowing for those directly involved, this seems a small thing in the broad context of the political turmoil and nuclear anxiety now gripping the Korean peninsula. Provided the injured are promptly and fully compensated, the incident might quickly be forgotten.

American political leaders would make a serious mistake in thinking so. The crash came amid rising opposition to the American presence in South Korea following the acquittals in a U.S. military court of two Army soldiers whose vehicle accidentally hit and killed two local schoolgirls in June. The vast majority of South Koreans still appreciate their American allies and the 37,000-troop “tripwire” the U.S. provides against an invasion from the North; President-elect Roh Moo Hyun campaigned and won on a platform that promised to preserve the strong ties between the two countries.

But Mr. Roh takes office a month from now with an inherited problem. His strongest ally has for a year now included North Korea in an axis of evil that can be brought to civilized conduct only through ultimatum. In this case, the North must abandon its nuclear weapons program and rejoin the Non-Proliferation Treaty before any discussion can he held on the North’s priorities of a nonaggression treaty with the United States, and U.S. food and energy assistance.

In contrast, South Korea has long had a policy of ongoing discussions with the North on issues large and small. While no one knows the best way to deal with a repressive, paranoid regime, the South’s approach, though it has produced no breakthroughs, does yield occasional progress. But promising negotiations on cross-border visits among families were canceled abruptly by the North after President Bush’s “axis” remark – the angry street demonstrations in the South today may well be more driven by frustration among disappointed families and the perception of U.S. meddling than by anger over the schoolgirl incident that, though tragic, was surely an accident.

This disconnect between two allies on the same issue may be on the mend. The Bush administration is reportedly putting together an international forum,

to include the U.N. Security Council’s five permanent members, on the North Korea crisis. This is an important change from the current approach of one-on-one antagonism and, since it is known that Russia, a council member, insists that food and energy assistance be part of nuclear talks, an encouraging sign Washington recognizes that dealing with the serious problems posed by one Korea must not come at the price of a valued friendship with the other.