The South Korean President-elect, Roh Moo-hyun, has called for a shake-up in South Korea's relationship with the United States, but has ruled out radical change and pledged to work with Washington to curtail North Korea's nuclear arms programme.
Roh, a 56-year-old human rights lawyer who won Thursday's presidential election on a platform of greater autonomy from Washington, said he would propose amendments to a pact governing U.S. forces stationed in the South since the Korean War.
Washington, which favours a tougher line on the unpredictable and possibly nuclear-armed North than Roh and outgoing President Kim Dae-jung, put a brave face on the result, the latest indication that its popularity around the world may be waning.
"The traditional friendship and alliance between ROK (Republic of Korea) and the United States must mature and advance in the 21st century," Roh told a morning-after news conference on Friday. Roh, who vowed during the campaign never to "kow-tow" to Washington or travel there merely for a White House photo opportunity, softened his tone in victory.
"I will not make major changes to Kim Dae-jung's policies on US relations, North Korea and foreign affairs," he said.
Roh's victory was a vote of confidence in Kim's "sunshine policy" of engagement with a neighbour U.S. President George W. Bush has dubbed a member of an "axis of evil" with Iraq and Iran.
Roh, a member of Kim's Millennium Democratic Party, pledged to continue sending cash aid to the North while working with Washington to persuade the reclusive communist state to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
"In order to resolve peacefully the problem related to North Korea's nuclear development, we will take initiatives through close cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the US government," he said