Pres. Lee: US troops to stay if NK event causes reunification . MARCH 07, 2013 21:03. . President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday said a signal should be sent to China via a nongovernmental organization that the U.S. military will remain south of the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas if reunification occurs due to a contingency in North Korea.

“South Korea should let China and the U.S. know that Seoul can play a role in maintaining peace in Northeast Asia when the interests of the two countries conflict,” the outgoing chief executive said in an exclusive interview with The Dong-A Ilbo at the presidential office.

“At the same time when (South Korea) cooperates with the international community to impose sanctions on North Korea, it`s important to understand how China, which shares the border with the Korean Peninsula, will be concerned about the U.S. role when the peninsula is reunified.”

President Lee said China’s perception of the North is changing due to Pyongyang’s nuclear tests, adding, “Since the middle of (former Chinese) President Hu Jintao’s term, Beijing has sent us the message that we shouldn`t consider China ‘too much on the North’s side,’ The leaders of South Korea and China have discussed that the Seoul-Washington alliance helps Seoul’s relationship with Beijing, rather than affect it.”

These comments suggested that there have been or could be talks between Seoul and Beijing and between Seoul and Washington on coping with a potential emergency in North Korea, which conducted its third nuclear test this week.

The Chinese government opposes the presence of a foreign military in North Korea in the event of a contingency there under the non-intervention principle. In contrast, South Korea and the U.S. fear that Chinese troops could be stationed in the North if an emergency erupts there.

Asked whether the North’s latest nuclear test was successful, President Lee said, “Rather than talking about success or failure, we should see the test as a process in which the North is developing nuclear weapons. Considering the future of North Korea as a state, the North went too far with the nuclear test. (Even if the test was successful), I see it as a failure at the regime level.”

On rising calls for Seoul to go nuclear, President Lee said, “I highly assess such views in that they might represent patriotic thoughts, and I don`t think that they`re entirely wrong because they can be warnings to North Korea and China. There should be some people in our country who think like that.” But the president added, “Since our ultimate goal is to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program through international cooperation, it is premature and improper for our government to discuss nuclear armament.”

Turning to the North Korea policy of his successor Park Geun-hye, the outgoing president said, “We (the incoming and outgoing governments) are cooperating perfectly on the (North Korean nuclear) situation. President-elect Park has a steadfast view on the North`s nuclear issue.”

On her planned push for economic democratization, President Lee said, “It`s time that we went beyond limitless competition and entered an era of a cooperative economy. Big business should follow the changes of time. Still, we should also consider that (the economic democratization drive) should not undermine entrepreneurship.”