Excellencies and Distinguished Guests,

It is indeed a great pleasure and privilege for me to address such a distinguished audience as those gathered here tonight for the very meaningful Asia Society event. I would like to congratulate the Asia Society Policy Institute and Korea Center for the meticulous preparations and for all your hard work to bring the Asia Rising Seminar to fruition.

About 20 years ago, when I was a First Secretary at the Korean Mission to the United Nations, I used to visit the Asia Society on Park Avenue very frequently to attend seminars and enjoy various exhibitions. After my stint in New York, I was lucky enough to have worked or studied in Taipei, Tokyo and Beijing. Tonight, surrounded by so many distinguished guests from all over Asia as well as beyond, I feel as if I were in the Asia Society Building back in New York and in my thirties again.

While each and every one in this hall must be familiar with different dimensions of Asian politics and economics, in particular, after a whole day of conference discussions, I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to share some of my own thoughts on two issues in Asia from a Korean Perspective, which are multilateralism in Asia and North Korea.

One might argue that the region where multilateralism has flourished more than in any other part of the world is Europe, as evidenced by the European Union and the OSCE. When I was a graduate student studying international relations, I had the opportunity to study multilateralism in Europe. Above all other factors, European countries share a very similar cultural background grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Even some European languages are mutually intelligible. In addition to these socio-cultural common denominators, most European countries are located on a single land mass. That geographic proximity has meant that European countries more or less share similar security challenges. The confidence building measures initiated by the CSCE in the 1980s clearly demonstrated that European countries could cooperate with each other to address these common challenges.

When we look at Asia, however, we can see greater cultural-social differences than we find in Europe. If we assume that Asia comprises not just Southeast and Northeast Asia, but also Southwest and Central Asia, that would encompass a staggering diversity of languages, religions and ethnicities. Moreover, Asian countries are not located on one land mass. There is a greater degree of physical separation between Asian countries, in particular, by ocean.

For all these reasons, prospects for the creation of a pan-Asian multilateral security framework do not look bright. What we need in Asia, therefore, is a sub-regional approach as far as security multilateralism is concerned. That is why Seoul proposed the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative, or NAPCI, in 2013.

As stressed by President Park Geun-hye, we believe that Asia suffers from the “Asian Paradox,” the gap between growing economic cooperation on the one hand and lack of security cooperation on the other. Against this backdrop, Seoul is seeking to advance NAPCI which aims to build an order based on peace and cooperation in the region. In our view, that would be achieved by building a habit of cooperation on such issues as disaster relief, nuclear safety, environment, energy security, and cyberspace cooperation. Fostering a habit of dialogue on ‘soft’ security issues will surely be helpful for bringing about a sub-regional atmosphere of trust where countries can discuss various ‘hard’ security issues in the years to come.
The second question I want to ponder upon is North Korea. To make a long story short, our efforts to bring North Korea to the right side of history have failed. The previous Security Council resolutions adopted in the wake of missile launches and three past nuclear tests have not deterred Pyongyang from testing a fourth nuclear weapon, nor launching another long-range missile. North Korea is now the only country in the world which has conducted nuclear tests in the 21st century and officially declared itself a nuclear weapon state in its constitution.

Given that North Korea has developed its nuclear weapons program even under the existing Security Council sanctions, it is clear that simply a piecemeal strengthening of existing sanctions will not put a brake on Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions. The entire state apparatus of North Korea is directly engaged in hard currency earning activities and is functioning as a giant WMD development machine. That’s why we believe the Security Council should adopt a resolution imposing tough and effective sanctions upon North Korea in order to make clear that the international community will no longer tolerate its development of nuclear weapons. And that is also why we made the painful decision last week to shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex. At the same time, I believe that is why the U.S. Congress passed the “North Korea Sanctions Act” last Friday.

In a nut shell, the leadership in Pyongyang must be pressed much harder this time to change its own strategic calculation regarding the value of its nuclear arsenal and delivery capabilities.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Asia Society was established in 1956, exactly sixty years ago. The sixtieth birthday or anniversary, hwangap in Korean, is considered to be a great milestone as it marks the completion of one full cycle of the lunar calendar and the beginning of the next. I would like to join many others in congratulating the Asia Society on the successes of the last six decades, as well as wishing it every success in the next.

Over the last sixty years, the Asia Society has faithfully pursued the vision of promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States. In the 1950s, that vision was no more than a dream. But through persistent efforts, you have turned that vision from a mere dream into concrete reality. Likewise, Koreans also have a dream. I do hope and believe that the Korean Peninsula will be unified because history will always be on the side of those who are full of vision and optimism.

Once again, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations on the success of the Asia Rising Seminar as well as the 60th anniversary of the Asia Society.

Thank you so much.