Just on the South Korean side, he has had to cope with Kim Dae-jung’s “sunshine policy” of engagement, Roh Moo-hyun’s on again, off again diplomacy, and current President Lee Myung-bak’s confrontational stance. From the US, he has confronted engagement on the part of Bill Clinton, unilateral confrontation from George W. Bush, and the nascent “principled engagement” of Barack Obama.