Speech
by H. E. Sun Joun-yung
to the Second ARF Meeting
of Heads of Defense Colleges and Institutions

September 8, 1998 

Introduction

It is a great honour for me to address this important gathering of the second ARF meeting of heads of 
defense colleges and institutions. 


At the third ARF in Jakarta in 1996, the ministers agreed to convene a meeting of heads of national defense 
colleges andequivalent institutions, with a view to enhancing high-level defense exchanges among 
countries in the Asia-Pacific. 


The participants of the first meeting held in Manila last October affirmed the importance of cooperation on 
security education and research in enhancing confidence and transparency in military matters. In particular, 
they recognized the usefulness of such a meeting in establishing networks and promoting people-to-
people exchanges among defense officials, and hoped that a follow-up meeting be organized in the near 
future. 


The Korean Government is pleased to host the second ARF meeting of heads of defense colleges this year. 
It has special meaning for our military officials, because this year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 
foundation of the Korean Armed Forces. 


Taking this opportunity, I wish to express my gratitude to the President of the Korean National Defense 
University, Lt. General Lee Ho-seung, and his staff for successfully organizing this meeting. 


The regional security outlook 

Overall, the Asia-Pacific continues to enjoy peace and stability. With a few exceptions, all countries in the 
region pursue economic development as their paramount national goal and share a perception that 
regional stability is a prerequisite to sustained economic progress. 


The region is now faced with severe financial turmoil and a threat of nuclear proliferation following the 
recent nuclear tests in South Asia. 


East Asia's financial crisis is now sending shock waves throughout the Asia-Pacific and beyond. Longer-
term ramifications of the crisis are expected to be wide-ranging, for it is not just an economic concern but 
a threat to the region's peace and stability. 


In coping with this economic crisis in Asia, the importance of multilateral cooperation can not be 
overemphasized. We need to redouble our efforts to enhance cooperation and dialogue on security as well 
as economic issues. 


The ARF and defense participation 

With the launching of the ASEAN Regional Forum in 1994, an important vehicle was created to promote 
confidence-building measures and enhance security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. 


During the last four years, the ARF has made significant progress in developing and implementing various 
confidence-building measures. 


Though it will be long before the ARF can prevent and resolve actual conflicts, it has successfully shaped 
itself as a multilateral security dialogue mechanism, comprising all the relevant players in the Asia-Pacific. 
With the decision to add Mongolia to its current membership of 21, the ministers agreed at the recent 
Manila meeting to allow the ARF to consolidate as a group for some time. 


However, the majority of the members expressed the view that the door should be left ajar for North Korea, 
as its participation will complete the geopolitical footprint of the ARF. It was disappointing to learn from the 
Chair of the fifth ARF, the Philippines, that North Korea is not interested in joining the ARF. We want North 
Korea to participate in efforts to promote regional security cooperation and integrate itself into the 
international community. 


For the ARF to be able to fulfill its true potential as a multilateral security mechanism, it is vitally important to 
ensure enthusiastic involvement of defense and military officials in the process. After all, the military 
aspects of CBMs constitute the ARF's core agenda. And it goes without saying that participation of defense 
representatives will make the ARF's work on CBMs more relevant as well as efficient. 


Since last year, defense officials have been invited to the ARF's ministerial and senior officials' meetings. 
This decision helps to facilitate greater defense participation and involvement in the work and activities of 
the ARF. I hope that this trend continue to be strongly supported. 


The Republic of Korea's policy towards North Korea 

Now, let me invite your attention to the Korean Peninsula. I understand that following the conclusion of 
Wednesday's plenary session, you will visit Panmunjom on Thursday and have the opportunity to witness 
at first hand the tense situation still existing between South and North Korea. To facilitate your 
understanding, I wish to give you an overview of the current situation in the North and explain my 
Government's Policy on North Korea. 


North Korea continues to pose a serious threat to South Korea. More than half of its forces are forward-
positioned along the Demilitarized Zone. North Korea is believed to possess considerable quantity of 
chemical and biological weapons, and is developing medium-range ballistic missiles which can reach all 
of South Korea and Japan. 


The test-firing of the Taepodong I last Monday, is a matter of serious concern to us. We are working closely 
with the United States and Japan to verify North Korea's claim that it was a rocket launch to put a satellite 
into orbit. Whether it is a satellite or a missile, however, the test means that the North has now the 
capability to fire an intermediate-range missile, and this poses a serious security threat not only to South 
Korea but also other Northeast Asian countries. We strongly urge the North to join international efforts to 
prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. 


Speaking about WMD threats, I wish to emphasize the critical importance of the Agreed Framework to 
peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Recently, there were some newspaper reports that North 
Korea is constructing a massive underground facility which could be used in a nuclear weapons program. 
At the moment, we have no reason to conclude that North Korea is in violation of the Agreed Framework. I 
just want to point out that the principle of the reciprocity is clearly written in the Geneva agreement. Both 
South Korea and the U.S. are committed to faithfully implementing the agreement, and we expect the North 
also meets its obligations. 


North Korea continues to suffer from serious food shortage. I believe it's a part of a structural problem. The 
whole economy of the North is undergoing a systemic deterioration. For the past seven years, industrial 
production has been decreasing dramatically due to severe shortages of energy and raw materials. 


But, politically, North Korea is more or less stable. Kim Jong-il's leadership is firmly in place. At the 
Supreme People's Assembly convened last Saturday, he was reelected head of the strengthened National 
Defense Commission, which replaced the Presidency as the highest state office in North Korea. With this 
decision, Kim Jong-il's succession to power was formalized. There exists no alternative force to challenge 
him. No dissident movement is likely to be mobilized there, either. 


These observations lead us to disagree with predictions made by many North Korea watchers that the 
collapse of the regime is imminent. Whether we like it or not, we have to deal with the current North Korean 
leadership for the foreseeable future. 


The ultimate goal in our policy towards North Korea is to achieve peaceful unification. However, we are not 
pursuing unification at the present stage of inter-Korean relations. Currently, our efforts are focused on 
establishing a regime of peaceful coexistence with the North. 


It is on the assumption of the continued existence of the North Korean regime that President Kim Dae-jung 
set out the policy of engagement towards the North, the so-called "sunshine" policy. 


Our message to the North is clear and straightforward. As President Kim asserted in his inaugural speech 
last February and reconfirmed in his address to the nation on August 15, we will not tolerate armed 
provocation of any kind from the North; we have no intention to absorb the North; but we will actively pursue 
inter-Korean cooperation and reconciliation. 


In line with this new policy guideline, the Korean Government has been taking concrete measures. 


We are now committed to separating politics from private sector economic cooperation. We have already 
eased most of restrictions imposed on business exchanges with the North, including lifting the investment 
ceiling. To cite one example of our new approach to economic cooperation with the North, a tourism 
development project of the Kumgang mountain is being encouraged by the South Korean Government, 
despite the recent stalemate in South-North relations. We will continue to provide humanitarian food aid 
through international organizations such as the WFP and the Red Cross, while holding on to the principle 
of reciprocity with respect to the governmental-level assistance. 


In order to make progress in South-North bilateral relations, we are ready to engage the North at any level. 
We have proposed an exchange of special envoys and the establishment of a standing dialogue 
mechanism at ministerial or vice-ministerial level. We have also announced our willingness to hold South-
North summit talks. 


Regarding the Four-Party Talk, we pursue it in parallel with South-North dialogue, so that these two tracks 
can complement each other. We hope that the 3rd session of the Four-Party Talk will be held in the near 
future. 


Conclusion 

I wish to conclude my remarks tonight by confirming Korea's strong and enduring commitment to the ARF. 
Since its inception in 1994, we have participated actively in all activities of the ARF. We will continue to work 
with other members so that the ARF can develop as the region's veritable security consultative mechanism. 


I also want to reiterate that the participation of defense and military officials is essential to the development 
of the ARF. I sincerely hope that the Seoul meeting will be a success and thus help further enhance 
confidence and exchanges among defense practitioners in the Asia-Pacific.