New York ? South Korea’s leader traveled Sunday to the United States for consultations with President Bush on the North Korean nuclear crisis, keenly aware that Pyongyang will be looking for any sign of a rift as it plots strategy on its weapons development.

Bush and South Korea’s President Roh Moo-hyun will almost certainly take a different tack than in 2001, when Bush and the previous South Korean president, Kim Dae-jung, met in Washington. That summit exposed sharp differences in how the two allies viewed communist North Korea.

Even though the policy differences remain, Bush and Roh are likely to reaffirm their military and economic partnership.

“Previous South Korea-U.S. summits have been burdened by high expectations,” Roh told reporters on a chartered Korean Air passenger plane before arriving Sunday afternoon in New York. “I hope the talks will confirm our common approach to resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, and also the importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance.”

Roh said the summit wouldn’t yield “spectacular” results, and added: “On matters of detail, there are different points of view. But on the big matters of principle, we are in accord.”

The sense of urgency about North Korea’s military threat is far greater now than when Kim met Bush and spoke in favor of engaging the North. Bush said at the time he didn’t trust North Korea and would suspend missile talks with it, upsetting both Koreas.

U.S. resolve has hardened in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and U.S. military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. American officials say they want a peaceful end to the North Korean crisis, but some in the U.S. administration believe only a change of government in Pyongyang will fully resolve the problem.