South Korea's President Lee Myung Bak was ready to engage on a wide range of issues when he met TIME's Michael Elliott, Michael Schuman and Jennifer Veale. Here are excerpts from the one-hour interview:
There have been reports that the food situation in North Korea is getting very bad. Can you tell us what you know?
As for how serious it is, I don't think anybody has a 100% accurate assessment. But our basic principle is that the people in North Korea should not go through such dismal conditions because of the lack of food. [We] are prepared to provide humanitarian assistance.
What is the status of the six-party nuclear talks with North Korea?
I think the United States' position is that the verification stage [in which the North discloses all of its nuclear programs] is going to take a lot of time and is going to be very difficult. That is our position as well. But what's important is that my government will continue to work very closely with China and the U.S. in order to resolve this. We have no intention of taking two separate tracks, for instance by developing inter-Korean relations apart from the six-party talks. We will continue to try to convince [North Korea] that it is in their national interest — to protect the regime and to ensure better lives for the people — to give up their nuclear-weapons program. We are very genuinely seeking reconciliation and peace on the Korean peninsula. And if it helps, I am ready to meet [North Korea's dictator Kim Jong Il] not just once but, if it yields good results, twice or three times if necessary.
How can you achieve closer ties with both the U.S. and China?
I don't believe that the relationship between Korea and China will worsen because of [closer U.S. ties] or vice versa. It is in the interest of the U.S. for the relationship between Korea and China to be on a friendly and cooperative basis, because if it wasn't, the U.S. would have a very difficult time trying to navigate and maneuver in Northeast Asia. Korea will continue to strengthen our traditional close alliance with the U.S. because this will not only ensure the peaceful stability of Northeast Asia but also will deter war on the Korean peninsula. At the same time, we will also develop and strengthen our relationship with China.
You've been a CEO, you've been a mayor of Seoul and now you're President. What do the three jobs have in common and how are they different?
Different names. Different titles. But seriously, all three are related in the sense that the previous jobs helped me better do my current job. I think the efficiency that I learned as ceo has helped me carry out my job as President.
You won election with a huge majority. Six months later there are demonstrations in the streets. It seems governing Korea is very difficult.
Governing Korea is a difficult task, I agree with you. International economic conditions have not been very favorable, not only for Koreans but around the world, so we cannot expect results immediately. Those people who supported me, they didn't go anywhere. As they see progress happening, in a year or two our supporters will come back to us. If you look at some of the opinion polls, over 50% of [respondents] said that the government and the President will do better in the future. They have high expectations and they have hope.
Are you enjoying yourself?
Right now I'm spending a lot of time in contemplation and a lot of thoughts are going through my mind. You can ask the same question next year.