열린장관실

A Perspective on a Comprehensive and Dynamic ROK-US Relationship

 

Speech by H.E. Ban Ki-moon
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tradeof the Republic of Korea

at a Dinner hosted by the Korea Society

September 23, 2004
New York

 

 

The Honorable Donald Gregg,

The Honorable James Kelly,

The Honorable Maurice Strong,

The Honorable Anwarul Chowdury,

The Honorable James Lilley,

The Honorable Thomas Hubbard,

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Introduction

 

I would first like to express my profound gratitude to the Korea Society for giving me this valuable opportunity to address such a distinguished group of supporters of Korea. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Korea Society for its outstanding contribution as well as to Ambassador Gregg for his distinguished leadership. The Korea Society has undertaken various programs for the strengthening of Korea-US relations and is currently working very hard to encourage North Korea's better understanding of the outside world.   

 

ROK-US relations have flourished across the whole spectrum of fields: political, military, economic and cultural. There is a need, however, to adapt our bilateral alliance to new developments both in Korea and the US, as well as the ever-changing international relations of our times. We know that accommodating and adapting to emerging change is a natural course, but sometimes change itself is perceived as a problem or even crisis. In Korea-US relations, there is now a call for both governments and civil societies to skillfully manage their bilateral relationship by accurately gauging the current situation and being proactive in bringing about necessary changes.

 

It is against this backdrop that today, I would like to assess the societal changes which have unfolded in Korea and the US as well as the meaning of ROK-US relations to Korea.

 

 

Assessment of Current Korea-US relations

 

Recently, Korea has also been experiencing a host of changes. With the rapid democratization of Korean society, we are witnessing a tremendous rise in the awareness and participation of citizens in the political process. Advances in IT, such as the Internet, have spurred the participation of the young generation. This has had a tremendous impact on Korea, in particular its political mechanisms. Numerous exchanges and cooperation between the South and the North have generated a new perception of North Korea, marking a significant break from the past. Notable have been changes in the political configuration, with participatory democracy coming into full bloom. As a result, the wishes of citizens are better noted and taken into consideration in government policy.

 

Meanwhile, the rapid changes being witnessed in Korean society have at times generated a great deal of misunderstanding and prejudice on the part of our friends. Expressions of a new perspective by the young generation on our relations are sometimes misunderstood as blind anti-Americanism. A pragmatic perspective toward the North is often misinterpreted as emotional sympathy for the North. And in the domestic process of trying to reach a national consensus on such issues, fragments of arguments have been conveyed directly to the US, creating the soil for further misperceptions.

 

Anti-American and anti-Korean sentiment alike have arisen through a series of unfortunate events and mutual misunderstandings. I think these phenomena may be attributed to a lack of awareness of the evolution that has taken place in each other's societies. The spotlight has been put on differences and disagreements rather than on common ground and cooperation and those discrepancies are sometimes portrayed as serious gaps in policy priorities.

 

 

Solid Foundation for Korea-US relations

 

Korea and the United States are facing a pivotal point in the history of their relations. One consideration that may be useful in the creation of a new paradigm to get through this turning point can be found in an Oriental maxim, “온고이지신 - One gets to learn the new by knowing the old”. In other words, the wisdom of learning and accommodating the new, while preserving that which is worth keeping among the old, will serve as a valuable guiding light for both Korea and the US.    

 

Above all, what really counts is the fact that there has been no change in our mutual commitment to the alliance partnership in spite of these changes. Both governments have continuously emphasized the close relationship and exerted efforts for public diplomacy to minimize any understanding gap between them. Not least, I think that the recent dispatch of Korean troops to Iraq unmistakably demonstrates to the citizens of both countries and the entire world the mutual trust we enjoy as allies.

 

 

Assessment of the Significance of Korea-US relations

 

Needless to say, Korea-US relations are very close and hold  great significance for both sides.

 

First of all, both nations share the universal values of democracy, human rights and the market economy. Many young American men and women sacrificed their lives in the Korean War to preserve these values. The US security commitment and economic cooperation, the cornerstone of the political, economic and societal development of Korea over the past fifty years, were offered principally to uphold these values.

 

 

 

From a strategic point of view, the US presence in this region as “balancer” is beneficial to all parties in the region as a whole. With China rising as an economic and military power and Japan on the way to becoming a normal state, I think Korea’s alliance with the United States is “vital”.

 

The successful relations of the last 50 years have made Korea and the US critical partners in other areas as well. Our two nations are major economic and trade partners. People-to-people and cultural exchanges are also growing by leaps and bounds. The United States is where the greatest number of our citizens have settled and is the number one destination for Korean students studying abroad. We, therefore, account for quite a share of the diversity of US society.

 

Challenges faced by Korea and the US

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

The North Korean nuclear issue is one of the most pressing challenges before us. This is a source of concern not only for those on the Korean Peninsula and the wider Northeast Asian region but indeed the entire world, in terms of its negative implications on the problem of global nuclear proliferation. The ROK and the US, in our common efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, are firm in our stance that we will not tolerate any nuclear programs of the DPRK. We also share a common view that this issue should be resolved in a peaceful manner through dialogue.

 

As a result of the combined diplomatic efforts of the ROK, the US, and the other concerned countries, the multilateral framework of the Six-Party Talks process was established, and progress has been made through the three rounds of talks held so far. During the last round of talks, the ROK, the US, and North Korea tabled their respective detailed proposals for the resolution of the nuclear issue. Hence, we need to focus our efforts on holding the fourth round of talks in the near future, so that the momentum generated during the third round of talks can be maintained and the necessary first steps toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can be taken.

 

 

The early resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue is in the best interest of all the participating parties of the Six-Party Talks. The most important thing is for the DPRK to make a fundamental strategic decision to give up all its nuclear programs, including uranium enrichment programs, in a thorough and transparent manner, so that the nuclear issue does not arise again in the future.

 

At this juncture, you might be asking yourself about past experiments involving nuclear materials in Korea that have recently been the focus of attention. The experiments were isolated, laboratory-scale research activities that a few scientists conducted on their own; regrettably, however, there have been some incidents of misunderstanding and unfounded allegations, raising questions over the transparency of the ROK's peaceful nuclear activities. The experiments have nothing to do with enrichment and reprocessing programs, let alone nuclear weapons programs.  The Republic of Korea is firmly committed to the cause of nuclear non-proliferation and has been an active participant in the international community's endeavors to stem the proliferation of nuclear weapons. In this regard, the Korean Government announced the following “Four Principles for the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy” on September 18th.

 

First, the Government of the Republic of Korea clearly reaffirms that it does not have any intention of developing or possessing nuclear weapons. Second, the Government of the Republic of Korea will firmly maintain nuclear transparency, and will strengthen cooperation with the international community to this end. Third, the Government of the Republic of Korea will faithfully abide by international agreements on nuclear non-proliferation, including the NPT and the Joint Declaration of the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.  Fourth, on a basis of international confidence, the Government of the Republic of Korea will expand the peaceful use of nuclear energy.  As a country with a high level of dependency on nuclear energy, the Republic of Korea wishes to emphasize that the peaceful use of nuclear energy is a crucial national policy objective.

 

 

South and North Korea have continued to hold various levels of talks and meetings for the sake of reconciliation and cooperation. In particular, the construction of the Gaesung Industrial Complex will be a significant achievement of inter-Korean cooperation. It is expected to serve as a gateway through which inter-Korean relations move onto the path of a truly mutually beneficial relationship. The Korean Government and people are appreciative of the consistent support and understanding of the US Government for the ongoing inter-Korean cooperation, including this groundbreaking project.

 

We are also going through a momentous transformation of our alliance. Our two countries face the need to strengthen and further develop the alliance, taking into account the changes in the international security environment and the revolutionary advances in military technology. We will seek to establish a more solid alliance without causing any unease amongst our people or undermining the current combined defense posture.  I am convinced that the US, as our sole ally, will continue to function as a reliable partner for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.

 

On the other hand, in order to further enhance economic and trade cooperation between our two countries, I believe that we need to adopt a more systematic and institutional approach. In this context, we should look for ways to make further progress in the negotiations for the Korea-US Bilateral Investment Treaty(BIT). We also need to seriously examine the possibility of a Korea-US FTA, although a great deal of preparatory work remains to be done, especially in the area of the agriculture market.

 

It is my sincere hope that these issues will be resolved as soon as possible so that we can work on a larger framework for comprehensive and dynamic relations from a long-term perspective.

The Future of Korea-US relations

 

In order to give more concrete shape to the “comprehensive and dynamic partnership” agreed upon at the ROK-US Summit Meeting in May last year, we need to have a common blueprint for the future direction of our bilateral relations. As our two countries continue to engage in comprehensive talks on the basis of this blueprint, we will be able to adjust ourselves to the new environment. And this will also enable us to enlarge the scope of our cooperation and lay out the framework to institutionalize our mutual commitment.

 

Certainly, there is a need to establish a mechanism for high-ranking government officials to discuss these issues on a regular basis. At the same time, it would also be useful to organize a council, comprising academic and economic experts in the private sector. These initiatives would prove a great contribution to working out a way for both nations to accommodate the developments in their societies, forging a common vision of the future on a firm grounding of better understanding.

 

The Korean Government has a long-term vision for the prosperity of the entire Northeast Asian region. Once peace and stability are firmly established on the Korean Peninsula through our Peace and Prosperity Policy, the entire region will be in a better position to pursue common prosperity.  We hope the geopolitical location of the Korean Peninsula as well as its leading edge in trade and IT will allow us to make an important contribution to making Northeast Asia a community of peace and prosperity. I would like to stress here that this “Northeast Asia era” is one that should be ushered in with the consistent involvement and close cooperation of the US.

 

 

Of course, my government also wishes to work with other neighboring countries in working out concrete ways to translate this vision into reality. Korea and Japan, as nearest neighbors, have been fostering cooperation through closely coordinated exchanges in the whole gamut of areas - political, economic, societal and cultural. My government is seeking to look to the future in its relations with Japan, with our two countries sharing the truth about past Korea-Japan history. Moreover, Korea-China relations, since the establishment of diplomatic ties twelve years ago, have been witnessing a huge rise in trade and investment. Aside from the areas of potential conflict which have come to the fore recently due to issues of history, both governments are garnering the wisdom to translate their relations into a full-scale cooperative partnership not just in name but in practice. Russia has been closely linked to the Korean Peninsula geographically and historically. President Roh Moo-hyun concluded his visit to Russia today and I just arrived in New York last night after accompanying the President on his trip to Russia. The Korean Government will continue to enlarge cooperation with Russia in such areas as natural resources, energy, science and technology as well as security. We also appreciate the constructive role Russia is playing in the Six-Party Talks.

 

Conclusion

 

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

The Korea-US relationship based on the 50 year-long security alliance is presently evolving into a comprehensive partnership spanning all areas. Embracing the values of human rights, democracy and the market economy, Seoul and Washington also share the common vision of contributing to world peace by maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia as a whole. When both our governments and citizens share this common vision and adjust to domestic and international shifts in both societies, I am quite confident that our bilateral relations will evolve into a more mature partnership.

 

 

The development of our relations can no longer be accomplished only by government-led initiatives. In this regard, I am convinced that the Korea Society has an invaluable bridging role to play in nurturing cooperation between the civil societies as well as governments of both sides. Indeed, the Korea Society can not only offer useful inputs as we forge a common vision but also contribute to improving mutual understanding and narrowing the differences in perceptions between our peoples. I would like to welcome any friendly advice from the Korea Society in our search for the common path to successfully get through this period of transition.

 

I sincerely look forward to an active contribution by the Korea Society and all the distinguished guests here in our endeavours to make our alliance a genuinely comprehensive and dynamic one.

 

Thank you.