According to Bruce Cumings in his interview with the Dong-a Ilbo: Scholar Assesses Korea-U.S. Alliance:

Twenty years on, what is the opinion of Cumings on Korea-U.S. relations? Dong-A Ilbo had an e-mail and telephone interview with him.

-How do you assess the relationship between Korea and the U.S.?

“The Korea-U.S. alliance is in its worst era since the 1950s. The fundamental reason is President George Bush’s North Korean policy. Yet in Washington, both Democratic and Republican Parties believe that Korean President Roh Moo-hyun is radical and is solely responsible for the strained alliance, on which I don’t agree, of course. Therefore, even though the Democratic Party will take office in the next election, it will be difficult to recover the relations like when the alliance was in best shape.” (emphasis added)

You won’t find many who know anything about North Korea saying that, but there you go.

Surprisingly, he goes on to say some things I actually agree with concerning Rumsfeld, China, the importance of Acheson’s speech, and MacArthur.

But blaming Bush for Kim Jong-il’s - and Roh’s - actions is ludicrous. North Korea started its illegal uranium enrichment program a full two years before Bush was elected, for starters. And then we have Roh’s basically anti-American platform. But what’s reality to do with it? No much for some.
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