Embassy of the United States

Speeches and Transcripts

U.S. and Korea:  Moving Toward a Stronger Relationship William A. Stanton Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Seoul Kyunghee University Graduate Institute of Peace Studies As prepared for delivery March 7, 2007 William A. Stanton, Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy, Seoul Thank you, Professor Hong Ki-joon, for the kind introduction and for inviting me to speak at the Graduate Institute of Peace Studies (GIP) at Kyunghee University.   As the oldest international graduate school in Korea, the Graduate Institute of Peace Studies has served as a model for other institutions in Korea, and played a significant role in the internationalization and development of Korean academia.   Korea now has many international graduate schools, and this is a strong testimony to the important role that Kyunghee University has played.  Today, I am also happy to have this opportunity to address you because first of all, the setting here is beautiful.  It is always nice to get out of the city, breathe some fresh air and reflect on where we are and from where we have come.   Furthermore, I always benefit from the chance to exchange ideas with top students and professors in these off-the-record settings. In fact, it is my interest in getting out of Seoul that led me to speak to you today.   In January, I went hiking in the snow with some distinguished GIP alums, and they persuaded Professor Hong to invite me to speak here.  They could not make it today, but I would like to mention Dr. Park Tae-woo and Mr. Sohn Young-woo who were gracious enough to lead me safely up  -- and down -- Cheong-gye-san in the snow!   I have gone hiking several times in Seoul and while I haven’t become a hiking fanatic quite yet, I always look forward to my next hike, because the best part of hiking is of course, the dong-dong-ju waiting at the bottom of the mountain! Today I would like discuss how I see the U.S.-ROK relationship developing in the future and my assessment of its prospects. Predicting the future of course is not easy, especially when the present situation changes so rapidly.   Let me give you an example of how fast these issues move.   This week, our Deputy Secretary, Ambassador Negroponte, was in town to meet South Korean officials.   Also in Seoul this week, actually today, is Treasury Secretary Paulson.    We are also beginning the 8th round of FTA negotiations in Seoul tomorrow.    Meanwhile, in New York, Assistant Secretary Hill, our representative to the Six Party Talks is meeting with his North Korean counterpart, Mr. Kim Gye-gwan.   Last week your Foreign Minister Song Min-soon was in Washington, as was your National Security Advisor Dr. Baek Jong-chun, and our Deputy National Security Advisor, Mr. Crouch, was in Seoul.   And two weeks ago your Minister of Defense was meeting in Washington with our Secretary of Defense in Washington. This is a dizzying list.  But it gives you a flavor of how busy the diplomatic scene is for us. In fact, I am beginning to think that Seoul has become the diplomatic capital of Asia. This is not much of an exaggeration, because we are experiencing a very dynamic phase in a dynamic nation.  I am hopeful that all this activity will provide opportunities for the United States and Korea to strengthen our alliance and the broaden ties between our two nations.   In particular, the United States and Korea are now participants in talks that have the potential to develop into a regional dialogue that can advance the cause of peace and security and help transform the Northeast Asian region from one of historical distrust and enmity to a future of mutual respect and security. I would first like to say a few words about U.S.-Korea bilateral issues and then move to broader inter-Korean and regional issues. Expanding People-to-People Ties I am a newcomer to Korea.  I have been here only for about for six and a half months.  Even in this short time, however, I have been struck by the breadth of the people-to-people ties between the United States and the Republic of Korea.   I am sure that if I took a poll here today, many of you, perhaps even a majority, would have a relative in the United States.    I believe that this is the fundamental strength of our relationship -- the fact that we now have so many contacts between our countrymen.   Practically speaking, for me this means visas.  During the last fiscal year ending in October, our consular section processed more than 450,000 visa applications.   And we issued visas to roughly 96 percent of everyone who applied.   We expect to process the same number, if not more, during the current fiscal year.    More than 87,000 Korean citizens are currently studying in the United States at university and high-school levels, making South Korea first in the total number of foreign students in the U.S. , and third in the number of its university students.  Even more common than Korean students going to the U.S., however, are Korean business and leisure travelers.   Last year our Embassy issued more than 350,000 visas for business or leisure.  These numbers make the U.S. Embassy in Seoul the largest visa-issuing post in the U.S. Foreign Service.  But that is a distinction I would very much like to lose -- as soon as possible.   So, we are working with the Korean Government so that Korea will continue to make progress toward meeting the requirements for the Visa Waiver Program.   Toward this end, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working to develop an e-passport, and we continue to cooperate with Korean law enforcement agencies to combat visa fraud and human trafficking -- all critical steps toward meeting the conditions for the Visa Waiver Program. Last November, President Bush announced that he intends to work with the U.S. Congress to introduce more flexibility into the process of determining eligibility for the Visa Waiver Program, while ensuring that U.S. security remains undiminished.   Some legislation along these lines has recently been introduced in the Congress.  So I am very encouraged about Korea’s prospects for VWP membership, and hope that it becomes a reality during my time in Korea.   Concluding the KORUS Free Trade Agreement As students and exchange visitors do more to bring our two countries together, it is only natural that we also consider the benefits of bringing our economies closer together as well.   Since arriving in Korea, I have consistently taken the view that although military alliance and security issues dominated U.S.-Korean relations in the past, the future increasingly belongs to economic cooperation and exchange. Just over a year ago, our two countries decided to begin negotiations on a Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (or KORUS FTA) precisely because we see such an agreement as the single greatest opportunity in our economic relationship.    For Korea, the estimated benefits include half a million net new jobs and a 2% boost to GDP, according to the Korean Institute for International Economic Policy.  Qualitatively, the FTA would create:  greater opportunities for trade, investment, and knowledge and technology exchange between two technology leaders; greater opportunities for service providers, for small and medium-sized enterprises, and for investors of both our nations; greater opportunities for reforming and streamlining government procedures in the interest of enhanced transparency, consumer protection, and freeing businesses and individuals alike from unnecessary and burdensome red tape; in short, greater opportunities to make our economies more competitive globally, more responsive to consumer wishes, and stronger and more prosperous overall. We officially launched our negotiations in February 2006, and we are holding the eighth round this week.  Our negotiators are reasonably optimistic that despite the remaining challenges, this deal can be completed.  There has been intense debate in Korea about the FTA.   While acknowledging the potential for major overall benefits, some Koreans wonder how a comprehensive FTA will affect the weaker sectors of the Korean economy, and how the KORUS FTA can be structured in a way that enhances the gains while minimizing the transitional costs.  Some have even suggested scaling back the level of ambition of the FTA in order to deal with some of these concerns. These are legitimate questions, because there will be some people on both sides who will be negatively affected.   Real-world experience, however, including the experience of Korea’s “economic miracle,” shows that countries open to trade grow and prosper, while countries that close themselves off from trade stagnate.    For both Korea and the United States, the KORUS-FTA is a key piece of our overall trade strategies to ensure that the trade liberalization process meets our needs and will ensure that our two economies remain competitive in the fast-moving global and Asia-Pacific marketplace. U.S.-ROK Strategic Alliance What therefore started as a security alliance to meet a common threat has evolved and expanded into a comprehensive partnership including economic, educational, cultural and personal links.   While the future holds many great opportunities for our two economies to be further integrated, we cannot overlook the factors that first brought our two countries together.    Our security alliance remains important In the beginning our security relationship was very much one way.   I would go so far as to say “unbalanced,” because it was mostly the United States providing security assistance.   This is no longer true.   The ROK is now an active partner even outside the Korean Peninsula.    You have, for example,  troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.   The United States is grateful for the ROK’s continued support for stabilization and reconstruction in Iraq, and welcomes Korea’s increasing activism on the global stage.   I also understand that you will be sending a sizeable troop contingent to Lebanon for peacekeeping.   All of this shows that the Republic of Korea is making a major contribution to world peace and stability. I am also pleased at the progress we have made in the last 3-4 years in modernizing our defense alliance to make it not only more capable in military terms, but a more balanced partnership.  Two weeks ago when our two defense ministers met in Washington, they agreed on a date in April 2012 for the transfer of wartime operational control to Korea.   This is entirely appropriate, because the ROK military is fully capable of assuming operational control.    Of course, this transfer in no way affects the 1953 Mutual Defense Treaty.    Under this Treaty, we are mutually committed to defending each other.  American forces in Korea are also making progress in moving from Seoul and other installations north of the Han River to our planned new hub in Pyongtaek.   We are very happy to give back this land to the people of Korea.   I hope that I will be able to see -- not too far in the future -- a park in Yongsan, which now houses our garrison.  Six-Party Talks North Korea of course remains a critical factor in ensuring peace and prosperity on this peninsula.   Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill as well as Korean diplomats continue to work tirelessly to lay the groundwork for a successful diplomatic resolution of the North Korea nuclear issue.  The Six Parties reached an important agreement on February 13 in Beijing, the so-called Initial Actions agreement.  Of course this is only the first step and we are under no illusion that it will be easy.    Nonetheless, we remain committed to a diplomatic solution to the North Korean nuclear issue.   We have made clear to North Korea that we seek full implementation, by all parties, of the September 19, 2005 Joint Statement.   North Korea must live up to its commitments in the Joint Statement and take concrete steps to denuclearize.   In return, the five other parties will carry out their obligations to normalize relations with North Korea, provide economic and energy assistance, and work toward building lasting peace and security in Northeast Asia, including a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. Denuclearization of North Korea is not just the goal of the United States or the five parties in the Six-Party Talks.   It is the goal of the international community.   This point was made clear in UN Security Council Resolution 1718, which is binding on all members of the United Nations, including North Korea.   The resolution requires that the DPRK abandon all its nuclear weapons and nuclear programs, and suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program.   Multilateral Cooperation in Northeast Asia The Six-Party Talks offer the path toward a fundamentally different -- and more positive -- relationship between North Korea and the rest of the world.  The Talks also could open the way to a significant change in security relations in Northeast Asia.   The September 2005 Joint Statement includes a commitment, in the context of North Korean denuclearization, to negotiating a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula in an “appropriate separate forum” (involving the two Koreas, the United States and China).   As you know, the Armistice agreement was essentially a cease-fire arrangement.   Nobody thought that this arrangement, reached in 1953, would last so long.   While the U.S.-ROK alliance has deterred aggression and kept the peace for over 53 years, it is long overdue to close this final chapter of the Cold War.   The Six-Party Talks, therefore, can be an important catalyst to reducing tensions and establishing normal relations between the two Koreas, laying the basis for lasting peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. Implementation of the September 2005 Joint Statement and negotiation of a peace regime could have more far-reaching implications for the region as a whole.   It could also be the starting point for deeper multilateral cooperation among the countries of Northeast Asia.   Of course, it is not going to be easy, especially getting giants like China, Russia and Japan together.   Still, I am optimistic because more and more leaders in this region are coming around to the view that peace and security will require greater cooperation and understanding.   They are also realizing that their economic prosperity very much depends on their working together to confront the common challenges we all face in the 21st century.  This process can begin with the Six-Party Talks and hopefully lead to the permanent peace regime mentioned in the Joint Statement, and to a longer-term process of multilateral cooperation.   Denuclearization, of course, is the prerequisite.   But with denuclearization, the signing of a peace agreement to officially replace the 1953 Armistice Agreement would not only be a watershed event for the U.S.-ROK Alliance and for the two Koreas; it could also be a turning point for stability, security and prosperity throughout Northeast Asia.  Shared Values I hope my remarks convey to you the idea that we are entering a very creative and potentially very positive period in the US-ROK relationship which will define our relationship for many years to come.     I believe the FTA, Visa Waiver Program and the Six Party Talks can bring results soon.   If successful, these measures will take our bilateral relationship to a higher level and could eventually even redefine security relations in Northeast Asia.  There is, however, another factor that will continue to bind us -- the values we share.   I think the U.S.-Korea relationship arguably has its roots in the American Revolution.   The values of freedom, independence and democracy that America’s founding fathers espoused and fought for were the same ones that many Korean independence movement leaders struggled to realize. These same values led the Korean people through their dramatic transformation into a modern, vibrant democratic state.  I recently watched the Korean musical, “The Last Empress” with great pleasure as it combined my passion for musicals, politics and history.  Because of my job, I get to do lots of interesting things, but one highlight was to meet Queen Myeongseong herself, the opera singer Ms. Lee Tae-won, and talk about her role in the musical and the meaning the musical had for Koreans.   What really impressed me most, however, was the fervor in the closing scene of the play in which Korean people unanimously rise up to defend their independence. There are few values that are closer to the American heart than democracy. Our country was founded due in no small part because my forefathers did not want taxation without representation -- they wanted a say in how their new country was to be run.   In 1984, when the Graduate Institute of Peace Studies was founded, Korea did not have free elections.  This year in Korea, the race for the presidency is wide open and could not be freer. There used to be considerable discussion about whether Asia is ready for democracy or whether democracy is right for Asia.  This discussion is particularly important now that the rise of China is on everyone’s minds.  As someone who has served a total of seven years in China, I am hopeful that China will eventually open up politically so that its people can enjoy not only economic liberties but also political freedom.   Korea, however, is a perfect example of the possibility of a great democratic transformation.  Through the efforts of ordinary people, Korea became a modern, democratic country when on June 29, 1987 Noh Tae-woo announced that there would be free elections starting that year.  Many have also asked “What Can Democracy do for Asia?”  Well, looking at Korea, I ask, “What Can Asia, and specifically Korea, do for Democracy?”   Korea’s example of vibrant democracy can serve to revitalize democracy elsewhere.  Our two countries have faults -- all countries do.   With separate national interests in some instances, there will always be issues to discuss.  Our fundamental belief in common values like independence, democracy, and human rights makes me confident, however, that our future relationship will be stronger and more harmonious than ever. What is next for our relationship?  Economically, through the FTA, we will grow closer together.   Through a transformation of the Alliance, our relationship will become more balanced and will remain the building block for the much anticipated achievement of peace on the Peninsula.  Politically, just as Korea learned from the U.S. example, now the U.S. can learn from younger democracies such as Korea.  The dynamism that is apparent in Korea is something that will help Korea continue to transform and is this is precisely why I have unlimited expectations for Korea and our continued friendship and alliance. Most important, it is the friendships -- like the ones I made hiking and the ones I hope to make today, that strengthen our relationship. The future of our relationship is built one personal relationship at a time. Fortunately for Korea, Koreans are so hospitable, frank and friendly, and so much fun, I know that each person who visits Korea becomes an advocate for Korea. Our two countries have undergone some great transformations. Now all that remains for both our great countries is to fulfill great expectations! Thanks you for listening. I look forward to hearing your views and responding to your questions.