열린장관실

  REPUBLIC OF KOREA FOREIGN MINISTER BAN KI-MOON REMARKS TO CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES(CSIS) AND THE KOREA ECONOMIC INSTITUTE(KEI)

March 5, 2004

Washington, D.C.

  Mr. Robin Niblett, executive vice president of CSIS; Mr. Peter Beck, KEI; and Dr. Einhorn, thank you very much for your kind welcome and introduction. And I know that this is Friday afternoon, and my mission I think is to finish my presentation as briefly as possible and let you enjoy Friday afternoon.

   And in fact, you know, I'm a little bit relieved to see Dr. Einhorn using only one crutch. Yesterday when I saw him, he was with two crutches. (Scattered laughter.) I hope by the time we finish this occasion, he'll be able to walk alone by himself.

  Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. It is a great pleasure and honor to address such a distinguished group of opinion makers of Washington.

  I wish to thank the CSIS and KEI for hosting this valuable opportunity. I was very much impressed and overwhelmed by the way CSIS and KEI were able to organize such a big turnout of these opinion makers in such a short notice, and I hope that -- I will try to use this kind of technology in the next -- in next time, whenever I come to Washington, D.C.

  I would also like to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation for the contribution these two prestigious institutions have made in so many ways to strengthen Korea-U.S. relations and promoting mutual understanding between our two peoples.

  My visit to Washington comes at a time when the current Korean administration under President Roh Moo Hyun wraps up his first administration. Today I would like to offer you a brief introduction to the Korean government's foreign policy that we have been pursuing over the last year. Then I will go on to how we are dealing with North Korean nuclear issue, and the main theme of how we view the future of our bilateral relationship.

  First, I would like to briefly touch on peace and prosperity of our government and the nuclear issue. The current Korean government has been pursuing a balanced and pragmatic diplomacy embodied in the peace and prosperity policy. While the "sunshine policy" of the previous administration focused mainly on reconciliation between South and North Korea, the peace and prosperity policy looks wider and seeks to establish a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula, and beyond, promoting a common prosperity of Northeast Asia.

  Applying this policy concept to our efforts for peaceful resolution of the North Korea nuclear issue, the Korean government has been strengthening international cooperation with the United States and other neighboring countries. It was in this vein that at the Korea-U.S. summit on May 14 last year, our two presidents reaffirmed that they would not tolerate the possession of nuclear weapons by North Korea, and that they would seek a peaceful resolution of the issue through dialogue. The positive efforts by Korea and the United States have helped North Korea soften its stance on having bilateral meetings with the United States and come up with its own suggestions at the six-party talks.

  After six months of intense, behind-the-scenes diplomatic maneuvering, a second round was finally held last week.

  This last meeting produced the chairman's statement, which is the first agreed document in the process of the six-party talks. In the statement, the six parties set a time frame for the next round of meeting as the second quarter of this year, and agreed to set up a working group to prepare for the main session. Of course there remains many challenging tasks to be dealt with in order to achieve the CVID, or complete, verifiable, irreversible dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear programs.

  However, the outcome on the talks so far should not be underestimated. First, the two rounds of talks have firmly consolidated the diplomatic process of resolving the North Korea nuclear issue peacefully through dialogue. The discussion on substantive issues have now begun in earnest. Besides, all participant countries, including North Korea, have reaffirmed their commitment to a nuclear weapons-free Korean Peninsula as the ultimate goal. And more importantly, all five countries made it clear to North Korea that CVID is an imperative for the resolution of the nuclear issue.

  It is my opinion that if we are to achieve the ultimate success, we should remain firm, consistent, patient in negotiating with North Korea.

  Korea and the United States have played the leading role through the whole dialogue process since the outbreak of the North Korea nuclear issue in October 2002. By closely cooperating with each other and encouraging the participation of other states, our two countries have kept the momentum for dialogue alive at every important turn.

  The agreement to pursue a comprehensive step-by-step resolution of the issue through coordinated steps, as well as the efforts to search for optimal responses to North Korea's demands for security assurance and energy assistance were the products of close coordination between Korea and the United States.

  Ladies and gentlemen, as the ambit of Korea's diplomacy extends, the geographic scope of our bilateral cooperation also has grown beyond the Korean Peninsula to other areas such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Central Asia. And Korea and the United States are now engaging in more frequent, substantive and in-depth policy consultations on many issues of regional and global concern.

  An area in which Korea has been particularly active in the cooperation is the cooperation in the war against terrorism. We are participating in the international efforts in Afghanistan, we have troops in Iraq, and we share information on terrorism with the United States. By acceding recently to two international treaties on terrorism, including the International Convention for Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, Korea has now ratified all 12 international agreements on terrorism.

  Global concerns about the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction have intensified over the past -- recent years. In this regard, my government welcomes President Bush's statement of February 11th, containing significant proposal to counter the threat of WMD. On our part, Korea is participating in all the existing export control regime, including as current chair of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and as host to the next MTCR meeting, to be held in October this year. Korea also ratified the IAEA Additional Protocol last month.

  The common ground for Korea and the United States is most evident in our shared interests and values. Above all, we are united by the values of democracy, human rights and market economy. In this year's State of Union (sic) address, President Bush said that, I quote, "Our aim is a democratic peace." Unquote. I'm convinced that Seoul and Washington can be excellent partners for democratic peace, helping more and more peoples and countries around the world adopt democratic values.

  Trade and investment is an area which deserves our increased attention. Annual two-way trade volume between Korea and the United States now amounts to about $60 billion, and Korea has become the seventh-largest trading partners of the United States and the fourth- largest market for United States agricultural products. Occasional trade problems are resolved in a mature and amicable way. We have become truly interdependent economic partners. Economic cooperation with the United States will become all the more important as Korea pursues its mid- to long-term goal of making Korea an economic hub of the region.

  Recently, Korea concluded an FTA with Chile and has launched negotiations with Japan and Singapore. As a free trade agreement between Korea and the United States would provide a huge opportunity for common prosperity, we need to pursue this matter with a long-term plan and vision. I think a bilateral investment treaty would play a bridging role in paving the way toward a Korea-U.S. FTA.

  There is much room for us to work together to strengthen free trade system. Making progress in the WTO/TDA is an important task for both our countries. Korea shares the United States' firm commitment to free and liberalized trading system. With that same commitment, Korea will make its best efforts to get the WTO/TDA process back on track in close cooperation with the United States.

  At this point, I'd like to mention briefly how Korea's improved relations with other countries should be viewed in terms of Korea-U.S. relations.

  For example, how increasing trade between Korea and China will influence the significance Korea attaches to its relations with the United States can be a matter of interest. I can confidently say that regardless of Korea's volume of trade with China, and Korea's regional cooperation with other countries, Korea-U.S. alliance will always remain the central pillar of Korea's diplomacy. Stronger ties with China and Russia will, in fact, contribute to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and to strengthen Korea-U.S. relations. We need to foster cooperative ties with these two countries, especially because we need their constructive roles in resolving the North Korea nuclear issues. On this point, Korea and the United States are in complete agreement.

  In the Joint Statement of May 14, 2003 last year, the year which marked the 50th anniversary of the ROK-U.S. alliance, President Roh and President Bush presented the future image of the ROK-U.S. alliance as a comprehensive and dynamic alliance relationship. In the process of realizing this picture, we all need to remember the merits of the ROK-U.S. alliance. Our alliance arose from the precious blood shed by young Americans and Koreans during the Korean War. We battled together, bled together, and beat the invasion force hand in hand. This blood-tied alliance in itself will remain the most important asset for both our countries. The alliance has successfully deterred the recurrence of war, and enabled Korea's development into a prosperous democracy. Along this process, America has faithfully stood by as a friend, adviser and supporter, and we are thankful for that.

  From the U.S. viewpoint, the ROK-U.S. alliance serves as the cornerstone of peace and prosperity and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, and also as an outpost for maintaining U.S. strategic leadership in the region. In this regard, Korea, the United States and Japan are currently cooperating closely with each other, and Korea and Japan are rising above the political and historical discord of the past to develop a future-oriented, cooperative relationship.

  With hindsight on how our alliance has fared for the past 50 years, it is now time to seriously consider in which direction the alliance should develop over the next 50 or even 100 years. To do this, we have to take into account the many changes that have taken place over the past half century.

  A huge change has occurred in the security perception of the American people after September 11. We can utilize the advance in science and technology, especially the revolution in military affairs. Implementing a new global defense policy is now a matter of urgency for the United States. Domestic politics of both countries present a different sort of challenges to our alliances. Security concerns, as well as the fear of economic backfire that may follow a drastic change in defense posture has become a serious issue for many Koreans. Demographic changes also have become an important factor to consider, as two-thirds of the Korean population are now under the age of 40 and the larger number have not experienced the Korean War. The so-called anti-Americanism sentiment which flared up for some time until the early part of the last year was not cool-headed ideological opposition to the United States, but issue-specific complaints that demanded specific redressing measures. Even the views that some young Koreans pe

rsistently hold about Korea-U.S. alliance should, rather, be considered in the context that they did not experience the war nor witness the birth of our alliance. Instead of criticizing them, the governments of both countries need to educate them with patience in the values we share and the solid merits of our alliance. The Good Neighbor Program, which General LaPorte and Ambassador Hubbard are pursuing, presents an excellent example of the kind of efforts we need to make for the purpose of public diplomacy.

  Ladies and gentlemen, before closing I want to emphasize once again that our alliance was not forged with words alone, but through blood and action. Our cooperation in Iraq is a good example. The Korean government has earmarked $260 million to assist the reconstruction efforts in Iraq. Even now, Korean and American soldiers are working together, promoting in Iraq the values shared by our two countries and providing in Iraq -- the Iraqi people with the help that Koreans once received from the international community.

  By next month, 3,000 more Korean soldiers will be dispatched to Iraq. With the dispatch of these additional troops, Korea will rank second only to the rank -- to the United Kingdom in terms of the number of troops stationed in Iraq, helping the U.S. president -- U.S. -- United States. President Roh made this politically difficult decision with a view to helping Iraq rebuild their country, and also in the belief that doing so would contribute to strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance.

  The task of actually realizing the vision for our future alliance, of course, will not be an easy task. The ongoing future of the alliance policy initiative is a difficult yet crucial process. To make it a success, wisdom, understanding and patience are required on both sides at the leadership as well as among the peoples. And it falls upon both our governments and opinion leaders to make continued efforts to adapt the alliance to a new environment, maintain its resilience, and work on detailed plans to implement the vision by changing the challenges we meet into blessings for us all.

  When I met President Bush Tuesday morning, we were very much reassured by President Bush's remarks that all these changes in our relationship, I mean relocation of American forces, realignment of our alliance, will be carried out in a manner not to weaken the combined defense capabilities on the Korean Peninsula.

  As our two countries meet future challenges as mature partners, I hope all of you present here will continue to offer insightful advice and support. And I thank you very much for your kind attention.