In his Sept. 16 commentary, "Rancor marks S. Korea-U.S. ties," Richard Halloran argued that the recent public tiff between President Bush and President Roh Moo-Hyun underscored the continuing decline in relations between the U.S. and South Korea. As a Honolulu-residing consul working for the Korean government, whose main concern is the betterment of Korea-U.S. relations, I would like to point out that Halloran's argument seemed to be based on somewhat misleading interpretations.

Though Halloran seems to believe that U.S-Korea relations are declining, the U.S- Korea alliance is rock solid. Since the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1954 between Korea and the United States, Korea has stood shoulder to shoulder with the U.S. in all the major frontlines: the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and, most recently, the Iraq war. It is also a well-known fact that the scale of troops the Republic of Korea deployed in Iraq is third-largest among the allies, following Britain. In this regard, Korea's continuing — not declining — efforts to maintain a solid relationship with the United States at least deserve due recognition from the United States.

Halloran also asserts that the two presidents "don't much like each other," and goes even further to say that "their respective administrations do not trust each other." You may say that some people, at times, disagree on certain issues; but it does not necessarily mean that they don't trust each other.

Furthermore, the politics of international relations are less about personal connections, which can be often capricious, and more about institutionalization and trust-building between countries.

In Korea-U.S. relations, there has been much more constructive progress leading into a more reliable and maturing alliance than Halloran assumed. The September 2005 joint statement and this year's Feb. 13 agreement made at the six-party talks involving the North Korean nuclear issue are the products of close Korea-U.S. cooperation based on the common goals of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula and thus preventing a potential nuclear arms race in the region and beyond. These accomplishments would have been impossible if Korea and the U.S. did not "trust" each other.

It is also somewhat misleading for Halloran to say that the Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement was "in trouble." The ratification process is in a very early stage in both countries, and we do not believe that vocal opposition represents the majority view of the constituents. Most important, there is a wide range of support for the agreement on both sides. One example is the strong support from the U.S.-Korea Business Coalition in which more than 475 private companies from the United States alone are actively participating.

Finally, Halloran claims that the younger generation of Koreans "turned ever more anti-American," and seems to relate it to the reduction of the U.S. forces in Korea. However, the truth is that an overwhelming majority of Korean people, including the younger generation, has favorable opinions about the United States, and its residing forces in Korea. They are well aware of the U.S. role in East Asia as a stabilizing force, and they want the stable presence of the U.S. forces in Korea. It is also noteworthy that the reduction and/or relocation of the U.S. forces in Korea is more related to the comprehensive restructuring plan of U.S. military forces around the world.

Therefore, if there is anything that marks Republic of Korea-U.S. relations at this point, it would be such words as dialogue, friendship and cooperation. The Korea-U.S. relationship is promising and maturing, as it always has been.

Dong-Hwan Che is consul of The Republic of Korea in Honolulu. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.