New South Korean President Lee Myung-bak got straight to diplomacy on his first afternoon in office. He promised the visiting U.S. Secretary of State he would improve on the outgoing administration's ties with the United States.

新上任的韩国总统李明博在执政的第一天下午就开始着手处理韩国的外交事务。李明博向到访的美国国务卿赖斯承诺，他将改善韩国与美国的外交关系。

New South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was making diplomatic inroads within hours of Monday's inauguration ceremony.

韩国新总统李明博在星期一的就职仪式举行几个小时之后就取得了外交上的进展。

In a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Mr. Lee's spokesman, Lee Dong-kwan, says the president looked for a new start.

李明博的发言人李东官说，李明博在与美国国务卿赖斯举行的会谈中说，他正在寻求一个新的开始。

He says Mr. Lee told Rice the U.S. - South Korea relationship had been lacking something over the past five years, and had even become "awkward." Mr. Lee then said things would improve under his administration, and that closer ties between the two countries would also help ties between the two Koreas.

李东官说，韩国总统李明博告诉美国国务卿赖斯，美韩两国的关系在过去5年里发展得不够全面，两国关系变得甚至有些尴尬。李明博接着说，他所领导的韩国政府将改变这一局面，而且美韩两国关系的加强也将有助于改善韩国与北韩之间的关系。

Washington has been a close ally of South Korea's since the end of the Second World War, and stations about 28,000 troops here to deter a repeat of North Korea's 1950 invasion. The two are close partners in multinational efforts to end North Korea's nuclear-weapons programs.

美国自二战末期以来一直是韩国的亲密盟国，美国在韩国部署了大约2万8千人的军队以防止北韩1950年入侵事件的重演。两国在为结束北韩的核武器项目所进行的多国努力方面也是密切的合作夥伴。

But most experts agree the alliance was strained during the administration of Mr. Lee's predecessor, Roh Moo-hyun, mainly over differences in perception of North Korea. Mr. Lee has vowed to revamp what South Koreans view as Mr. Roh's overly generous and uncritical policy of economic aid to Pyongyang.

不过，大部分专家一致认为，在韩国前任总统卢武铉的统治下，美韩之间的盟国关系有些紧张，这主要是因为两国对北韩的看法有所不同。李明博誓言要改变韩国人看到的卢武铉总统对北韩采取的过于宽容和不加鉴别的经济援助政策。

Secretary Rice praised Mr. Lee's inaugural-speech pledge to fortify the South Korea-U.S. alliance, and said the relationship between the two countries will remain strong.

美国国务卿赖斯赞扬了李明博在就职演讲中誓言加强韩美联盟的做法，并且说两国关系将保持密切。

"It is a relationship that has only deepened over the years because we share something very important - as much as we share strategic interests, we also share common values," she said.

赖斯说：“美韩两国关系在过去之所以得到加强是因为两国分享共同的战略利益，而且两国拥有相同的价值观。”

Mr. Lee also met with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who said afterwards the two countries had agreed to resume frequent high-level contacts and to communicate in a "frank and comfortable" manner.

李明博还会见了日本首相福田康夫。福田康夫在会晤后表示，两国同意重新开始频繁的高层会谈，并同意进行“真诚且轻松”的交流。

Japan subjected the Korean peninsula to harsh colonial rule during the first half of the 20th century, and South Korea has often accused Japan of whitewashing its imperial past. Mr. Lee's predecessor, Roh Moo-hyun, halted certain diplomatic contacts with Tokyo in a dispute over visits by Japanese politicians to a controversial war shrine which honors convicted war criminals alongside other Japanese war dead.

日本在20世纪上半叶置朝鲜半岛于残酷的殖民统治之下。韩国常常指责日本洗刷其帝国侵略史。由于日本政府官员参拜有争议的供奉日本战犯灵位和其他日本战争亡灵的靖国神社，韩国前任总统卢武铉曾经中止与日本的一些外交往来。