South Korea's Lee aims smile at U.S.

By Jack Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's business-hungry new president makes his first overseas trip this week, heading to the world's two biggest economies to fix ties and reassure his key allies he will stand up to an unruly North Korea.

The visit to the United States and Japan by Lee Myung-bak, buoyed by his conservative party's win in last week's parliamentary election, sends a clear message to the region that restoring strong relations with the traditional allies is at the top of his diplomatic agenda.

"We'll be looking to further improve relations with traditional allies and exchange views on how to bring peace and prosperity for Northeast Asia," Lee said in a televised address on Sunday.

Lee's predecessor Roh Moo-hyun, a liberal who swept to power on a wave of anti-Americanism, broke off talks with Japan over disputes about their troubled history, lectured U.S. leaders on his misgivings about Tokyo and, at times, spoke in defense of Pyongyang.

"(Lee's visit) will be a tangible sign that the old Roh administration is gone and that Lee Myung-bak is embracing the U.S. and is actively seeking to improve the relationship," said Bruce Klingner, a Korea expert at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative U.S.-based think-tank.

A Blue House official said the summit with George W. Bush, which also includes the first visit of a South Korean president to the Camp David retreat, will focus on North Korea, trade and military cooperation between "blood allies" who joined forces to fight the Korean War.

The United States stations about 28,000 troops in the South to help it defend against invasion by the North, which in the past weeks has threatened to reduce the South to ashes and unleashed a torrent of insults directed at Lee.

Lee has called on North Korea to clean up its human rights and make progress on nuclear disarmament in order to receive aid -- a position closer to that of the United States and Japan and far tougher than what Pyongyang has seen from Seoul in a decade.

He has also pushed to pass a sweeping trade deal with the United States struck last year which estimates said could increase their two-way, $78 billion annual trade by about $20 billion.

U.S. lawmakers have said the trade pact, the largest for the United States for about 15 years, would be scuttled unless South Korea fully opens its market to U.S. beef, leading analysts to wonder if Lee will bring any concessions with him to Washington.

PUTTING HISTORY BEHIND

On the second leg, Lee stops in Tokyo next weekend to discuss resuming shuttle summit diplomacy that had been suspended under Roh, who often complained Japan had not offered proper contrition for its 1910-1945 rule over the Korean peninsula.

"I think both sides want to take a step back and take a deep breath and act a bit more maturely, and see that the larger issues are China and North Korea, rather than any kind of dispute between Seoul and Tokyo," Klingner said.

Lee is also likely to discuss with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda how the two countries can resume talks on a free trade deal that stalled due to disputes over farm-sector openings.

Lee said last month the two countries must put their bitter history behind and take a fresh approach to their relationship on everything from politics to economics and trade.