Remarks by The Ambassador Thomas
C. Hubbard
to the Citizens United for a Better
Society CEO Forum
March 28, 2003
President Kim, Ladies and Gentlemen;
Let me offer my thanks to Citizens United for a Better Society for inviting me to address this important forum. Let me also congratulate you on the first anniversary of the founding of your group. Your founders chose an auspicious time to establish a group such as this, given the many important issues now facing the Republic of Korea. Your counsel will be invaluable in improving civil society and the free market economy of Korea.
The ROK-U.S. alliance is crucial to the security and the prosperity of Northeast Asia. Each aspect of our alliance, including the defense, political, economic, and social ties, serves the needs of both our countries and contributes to peace and prosperity throughout Northeast Asia.
The Republic of Korea has transformed itself, in a few decades, from a largely agricultural society to a thriving democracy with a modern economy and a high standard of living. This is due largely to the efforts of the Korean people themselves, a people renowned throughout the world for their dynamism, dedication, and determination. Korea's greatest asset is its people.
It is the Korean people's willingness to accept and embrace change, and their spirit of innovation, that have allowed the Korean economy to diversify from low-cost goods to heavy industrial products, and further into a wide range of sophisticated items related to information technology.
There is no greater contrast to the wealth, bustle and dynamism of the Republic of Korea than the tragic situation prevailing in North Korea. There is a famous satellite photograph of the Korean Peninsula at night. In this photograph, much of the southern half of the peninsula is ablaze with light. The northern half lies shrouded in darkness, except for a weak flicker of light emanating from Pyongyang. Objectively, this photograph shows the great disparity in available electricity between the Republic of Korea and North Korea. But it is also symbolic of something even more important-the isolation of the people in North Korea.
The Republic of Korea is a leader of the "information society." Its citizens enjoy free access to all sorts of information and many different points of view, via radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet. Armed with this information, they join together in groups such as yours to discuss the critical issues of the day. North Korea is its opposite; it is the "no information" society. Just as most North Koreans' bodies are starving for want of nutritious food, their minds are starved for truthful, varied, and objective information. The people are taught an irrational hatred and fear of the United States, and an equally irrational adulation of their leadership, and they have been taught these for decades in complete isolation from the rest of the world. The long-suffering people of North Korea live in a state with sadly misguided priorities.
One of the most serious of these priorities is the North Korean leadership's obsession with defending itself against a perceived but illusory threat from the United States. North Korea seeks to develop both nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them to distant lands. These actions represent a direct threat to the prosperity, security, and stability of South Korea. They also threaten both regional and global peace and stability, and they defy the international system of non-proliferation designed to limit the spread of these deadly weapons.
This is a global challenge, and must be addressed by a combination of concerned states. This is why the United States continues to emphasize the need for a multilateral approach to resolving this issue. Our long-time friend and ally, the Republic of Korea, agrees with us that a multilateral approach is the appropriate way to meet this challenge. The presidents of our two countries reaffirmed this during an extremely positive and cordial telephone conversation earlier this month. They also agreed that this issue must be resolved peacefully, through dialogue and diplomacy.
We continue to consult with the Republic of Korea, and also Japan, Russia, and China, who all agree that the presence of nuclear weapons anywhere on the Peninsula is unacceptable. We remain ready to meet with representatives of North Korea in a multilateral setting to discuss the steps the DPRK can take to meet the obligations it has undertaken, and has, regrettably, more recently abandoned.
In his inaugural address, President Roh Moo-hyun clearly spelled out the alternatives North Korea faces. It can choose to go down the path of having nuclear weapons and face further isolation and impoverishment, or it can renounce nuclear weapons and receive assistance from both the Republic of Korea and other members of the international community. The greatest tragedy for the people of North Korea is that nuclear weapons are the last thing the DPRK needs. They will not make the DPRK safer or more secure in any way. Quite the contrary: The North's pursuit of these most dangerous weapons can only undermine North Korea's security, and, indeed that of all Koreans.
For the last fifty years, each generation of Koreans living in the South has achieved greater prosperity than their parents could have ever dreamed of. The "386" generation and other young South Koreans have every right to expect the same. However, these aspirations are jeopardized by the reckless actions of the North, just as the safety and prosperity of earlier generations were destroyed or undermined by the Korean War and the years of threats and incursions from the North which followed it.
While the commitment of the United States to help Korea defend itself remains as firm as ever, our alliance cannot stand still in a world that is steadily making obsolete ideas and technologies which were considered modern as little as ten years ago. How many of you have a computer in your office that is ten or even five years old? Our alliance must be one for the 21st Century, not the 20th.
As one example of how our relationship is evolving, our two Defense Ministers met last December and agreed to conduct a joint study on the future of our alliance, exploring the challenges and opportunities our two militaries will encounter in this new century. I wish to emphasize that the Korean and United States governments will consult closely with each other before any major changes are made. Our military presence, and our continued determination to defend the Republic of Korea, will continue, and our combined deterrent will remain strong, and, if anything, will become even stronger.
And while deterrence remains our first priority, in the future our alliance will also encompass the promotion and maintenance of regional security. We are grateful for South Korea's support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and look forward to your help in humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in post-conflict Iraq.
However, joint security is but one strand in the ties that bind our two countries. As Korea has made the rapid and impressive transformation from an agricultural economy to a modern industrial and post-industrial state, the close and vital economic relationship between the United States and Korea has become ever more important to both our countries. A strong and healthy Korean economy benefits the United States, just as an expanding U.S. economy and an open U.S. market are of crucial importance to Korea.
As Korea's economy has become more complex and sophisticated, and as its firms have gained confidence in the competitiveness of their products, Korea's markets have gradually opened. Both our nations understand and appreciate the benefits of free trade and the importance of open markets and the free flow of goods. Our countries are important trading partners, and we invest in each other's economies.
In addition to our economic and security relationships, there is also an extensive personal dimension in our ties. This year marks the centennial of Korean immigration into the United States. Koreans have been enriching American arts, culture, cuisine, academia, and a host of other fields for many years now. They are renowned as diligent workers and dedicated students, and they have made numerous contributions to our "nation of immigrants."
I am fundamentally an optimist by nature. My wife and I first traveled in Korea almost 35 years ago, and when I see how quickly and how far Korea has progressed since then, I cannot help but be confident that our two peoples are capable of meeting whatever challenges the future holds. The evolution and development of our relationship are healthy and positive signs, and they take place within the framework of basic values that we share, values that have made our two countries what they are today, and that form the basis of our alliance.