Reme Ahmad in Singapore talks to
Lee Tee Jong in Seoul.
RA: The beef protests have died down after being roused up again during Mr Bush's visit. What is the feeling about this issue now after months of protests? And what's next for the No-to-US beef movement?
LTJ: Most South Koreans are tired of the anti-US beef protests which have been going on for four months now. However, the scale and interest in the protests have fizzled substantially. At its peak in June, there were tens of thousands of protestors. In the last two weeks, that number has dropped to a few hundreds and media interest has died down.
People are unhappy about the protests because it has affected the country's image negatively, driven away potential investors and more importantly undermined the country's economic interests. The protests are likely to go on, driven by hardcore opponents, for some more weeks but it probably won't receive much mainstream attention.
RA. Beef imports into other Asian countries have not fired up the same type of anger and angst as in South Korea? Is there more to it than worries about mad-cow disease?
LTJ: The fears over mad-cow disease are stoked by online rumour-mongering and political opportunists at odds with the establishment. The political opposition have used the protests to hit out at the government and its ruling Grand National Party which has a parliamentary majority.
There is no scientific evidence to back up the claims that US beef is currently at risk of mad cow disease. The anger and angst have cooled down considerably and is expected to die a natural death due to lack of attention.
RA. What about Mr Bush's comments about North Korea. Were his comments seen as mild or tough on Pyonyang? Is there progress on the North Korean front recently?
LTJ: President Bush said that North Korea must agree to verification procedures before it can be taken off Washington's list of terror-sponsoring nations. In recent days, North Korea have shown itself to be unwilling to submit to the verification process as spelt out by the US. Progress on Pyongyang's de-nuclearisation has reached a deadlock unless both sides can agree on a compromise.