열린장관실

Speech
at the Luncheon
hosted by the Diplomatic Corps
30 October 2007, Seoul

H.E. Song Min-soon

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Republic of Korea

Ambassador Vitali Fen, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps,
Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to be here with you in this most joyful time of year in Korea. We recently celebrated one of our major holidays, ‘Chuseok’, the Korean “Harvest Festival” or “Thanksgiving.” Although Chuseok has come and gone, I think today offers an excellent occasion for the diplomatic community to celebrate our own harvest of the year and to give thanks together.

Allow me to start by once again offering my congratulations to His Excellency Ambassador Fen on assuming the role of Dean of the Diplomatic Corps. Under his able leadership, I have every confidence that the diplomatic community will be able to foster deeper mutual understanding and cooperation among us. I would also like to take this opportunity to assure you and other members of the Diplomatic Corps that your dedication and love for Korea are deeply appreciated at all times. On behalf of the government and the people of Korea, I extend our heartfelt appreciation.

Excellencies and Distinguished Guests,

As you know, this year is the last under the current administration in Korea. For the last five years, we have faced many challenges that have significant implications for the future of Korean diplomacy. But we have done our utmost to turn every challenge into a new opportunity. I believe that our efforts, if not always successful, have yielded many fruitful achievements.

One of them has been the expansion of Korea’s diplomatic vistas through active summit diplomacy. President Roh Moo-hyun has made 28 overseas trips so far, visiting a total of 44 countries. In addition, 45 Heads of State have paid visits to Korea. This has presented opportunities to enhance our ties with countries all over the world not just in quantitative terms but also qualitative.

To give some examples, as a result of increased summit exchanges, the relations with Africa have been strengthened. Since President Roh announced ‘Korea’s Initiative for Africa’s Development’ in 2006 during his visit to African countries, we have been developing diverse cooperation projects.

With regard to our relations with the Middle East, we are building on the outcomes of the Presidential visit to the region, based on a ‘Vision for Korea-Middle East Future Cooperation.’

With the European countries, we have been able to strengthen our political and economic ties, which I hope will soon lead to a revision of the ‘Agreement Framework’ and the conclusion of a Korea-EU FTA. 

Summit diplomacy in other regions has also led to numerous practical follow-up measures. Those include establishment of an ‘ROK-ASEAN Center’ next year to foster cooperation with ASEAN countries as well as cooperations with Latin American countries in such areas as IT and energy. Central and South Asia as well as the Oceania have been regions involved in enhanced summitry.

Along with such an expansion of our diplomatic horizon, Korea's ties with the U.S., China, Japan and Russia have been further strengthened through frequent summit exchanges. I sincerely thank you for everything you have done to enable President Roh’s diplomacy to bear fruit.

The last few years have also been critical for the efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and bring durable peace to the Korean Peninsula. Since I have expressed my views in this regard on many other occasions, today I will be brief in my comments on these issues.

The North Korean nuclear issue has significant implications for peace and security in Northeast Asia and would pose a serious threat to the global nuclear non-proliferation regime if it were not properly addressed. It is an issue on which we cannot concede or compromise. With North Korea pursuing a nuclear program, peaceful coexistence will not be possible.

Noticeable progress has been made in the Six-Party Talks in recent years. This includes the Joint Statement of September 2005 that set out the principles for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and the Agreements of February and October 2007 on the implementation of the Joint Statement.

As a result, the North Korean nuclear facilities have been shut down and will be disabled shortly. We also expect a full declaration of all North Korean nuclear programs within this year. Corresponding measures by the five parties, including economic and energy assistance and improvements in the U.S.-DPRK relations will facilitate the process of denuclearization.

In inter-Korean relations, the Inter-Korean Summit Meeting early this month, became an important milestone in the efforts for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and beyond. Through this Summit, we gained a renewed sense that the Six-Party Talks and inter-Korean relations are mutually reinforcing.

The resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue and a peace process on the Korean Peninsula will open the path to a regional security dialogue. And the resultant improvements in Northeast Asian security will serve to further strengthen regional and global cooperation for peace and prosperity.
 
Another area of focus of this Government has been our contribution to the international community. We have exerted full efforts to fulfill a role commensurate with our growing international presence. Korea did not become the world’s 12th largest economy for itself. The support and assistance of the international community was vital in our development. And now it is time for us to give back. 

As a first step, we have contributed to international peace and stability by increasing our participation in UN peace-keeping operations. As you know, Korea has a well-trained and disciplined military force and extensive first-hand experience in post-conflict reconstruction. We have participated in 14 peace-keeping operations thus far. The latest one is the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon(UNIFIL). The success of each PKO mission depends to some degree on the rapid deployment of peace keeping forces. Actually, we are now working with the National Assembly to make a new legislation which will allow the government to send UN peace-keeping forces within short span of notice. For now, we cannot send forces without prior approval of the National Assembly. The legislative process is now going on. I hope that we will succeed in that effort.

In the area of development, we have redoubled our efforts to help eradicate global poverty which we believe is vital in promoting international stability. 
We have decided to increase our ODA to 1 billion USD by 2009. Further efforts are being made to reach a level of 0.25 percent of the Gross National Income for ODA by 2015. We have also drawn up a new road map for joining the donors’ group of the OECD DAC by 2010.
 
On human rights, the Korean government has been striving for the protection and promotion of human rights as an inaugural member of the UN Human Rights Council. The Government has placed a special focus on vulnerable groups in society such as women, children and those with disabilities. We played a leading role in the conclusion of the “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.” We have also kept voicing the need to improve the human rights situation in countries of concern. And keenly aware of the value of democracy and its advance around the world, we are a dedicated member of the Community of Democracies.

Turning to the United Nations, we believe that we should persist in our efforts to strengthen the world body through reform to meet the newly emerging challenges facing the world. As you know, my predecessor H.E. Ban Ki-moon was elected to UN Secretary-General with a firm commitment to UN reform. Under his leadership, initiatives have been taken to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and accountability of the Organization. And my government strongly supports the efforts of the Secretary-General to this end. 

In the field of foreign trade, Korea recognizes that a liberal international trade environment is beneficial to economic development and growth. With this in mind, my government has actively participated in the DDA negotiations as well as the FTA negotiations with the world’s major economies.

Only a few years ago, ‘FTA’ was not a popular policy or even a familiar term in Korea. In 2003, Korea was one of only two WTO member countries that had not concluded a single FTA, despite the fact that 70 percent of Korea’s GDP was dependent on foreign trade.

Yet, since establishing an ambitious multi-track FTA policy, the Korean government has so far concluded a number of FTAs, including those with Chile, Singapore, EFTA and finally with the United States last April. Furthermore, the Korean government is currently pursuing FTA negotiations with 41 countries, including the EU, ASEAN, Canada and India, and plans to expand such efforts in the future.
 
As we pursue these various FTAs, we are mindful to ensure that they contribute to furthering the principles and spirit of the DDA. It is our hope that the expansion of FTAs will be constructive in terms of contributing to the liberalization of world trade in connection with the global FTA network.

Last, but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to seek your support for the Yeosu BIE. Since the majority of envoys present here visited Yeosu last May to see for yourselves the area as well as the preparations for the Yeosu BIE, I hope that you all would speak highly to your governments of the suitability of Yeosu as the host city for the 2012 BIE.

Excellencies and Distinguished Guests,

By facilitating ‘contact and dialogue’ between our peoples, you all play a bridging role between Korea and your home countries. You might think of yourselves not only as a diplomat accredited to this country, but also as a diplomat representing Korea, in the sense that your job is to forge a still stronger friendship between this country and your home country.

I do have every confidence that you will continue to be tireless in your efforts. I would now like to bring my speech to a close by extending my very best wishes and goodwill to all of you. 

Thank you.   /The End/