Speeches and Transcripts
Ambassador Sung Kim, delivers remarks on the “The U.S.-ROK Alliance: Partnership on the Peninsula and Beyond” at the 45th KIDA Forum.
Ambassador Sung Kim
45th KIDA Forum
“The U.S.-ROK Alliance: Partnership on the Peninsula and Beyond”
November 16, 2012
(As prepared for delivery)
President Bang, distinguished Ministers, National Assembly representatives and academics: good morning. It is an honor to be with you today and I want to thank the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses for the invitation to speak at the 45th KIDA Defense Forum.
Having been involved in Korean Peninsula security issues for a long time, I am very well aware of KIDA’s important role in key policy deliberation in Seoul. I am delighted to have this opportunity to exchange views with all of you.
As you know, just ten days ago, President Obama was reelected to a second term. The President has made clear our commitment to strengthening our special partnership with the Republic of Korea and to playing a larger and long-term role in shaping this region and its future. That commitment will remain unchanged. The ROK-U.S. alliance is stronger than ever and there are many reasons to be confident about its future.
My personal commitment is to grow this relationship and help the alliance flourish in four key areas: security, global partnership, trade, and people-to-people ties. These four pillars are the foundation of one of the greatest alliances in history.
Importance of the U.S.-ROK Alliance
Our partnership was formed through extraordinary bravery and sacrifice. I was reminded of this just last weekend when I joined General Dempsey and General Thurman at our Veterans Day Ceremony on Yongsan base. Despite the pouring rain and the unusually cold weather, I was grateful to be there -- to have the opportunity to honor our veterans. Our predecessors forged a lasting bond, and that bond has withstood the test of time. Next year we will celebrate the alliance’s sixtieth anniversary. We have had 60 successful years and we can all look forward to continuing our alliance for another 60 years and beyond.
I am confident about that prediction because we continue to update our partnership to meet new challenges in the 21st century. The repositioning and consolidation of U.S. Forces Korea and OPCON transition are important parts of our efforts to modernize the alliance.
But one thing that has not and will not change is our commitment to this special relationship and to defending the ROK against any aggression.
That commitment of course sends a strong message to North Korea.
North Korea’s irresponsible pursuit of nuclear weapons and missiles poses a serious threat to all of us. We are continuing to work together to improve our combined defense capabilities. In this context, we held close consultations regarding the threat posed by North Korea’s ballistic missiles. As a result of those consultations, the ROK has announced revisions to its missile guidelines, which are designed to improve the ROK’s ability to defend against DPRK ballistic missiles. We think that this is a smart and proportionate response.
At the same time, we have been clear that we are prepared to engage constructively with North Korea. However, North Korea must live up to its commitments, adhere to its international obligations, and deal peacefully with its neighbors.
As partners whose alliance is a linchpin of stability in Northeast Asia, we take seriously our mission of maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region. The United States remains firmly committed to our alliance and to the defense of the ROK.
Global Partnership
While the foundation of our alliance is our security cooperation, our relationship has expanded into a mature global partnership.
In 2009, the Republic of Korea officially became the first major recipient of foreign assistance to join the OECD Donors Assistance Committee. It has gone from receiving assistance to giving assistance faster than any country in history. I cannot exaggerate the significance of this achievement. The Republic of Korea embraces its role as one of the world’s wealthiest nations with the capacity and responsibility to contribute to resolving global problems.
As part of its global role, the Republic of Korea also successfully hosted the November 2010 G-20 Summit, the November 2011 High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, and the March 2012 Nuclear Security Summit.
The United States and the rest of the international community benefit from Korea’s growing global leadership and engagement. For example, Korea stations over 1,200 troops overseas, and has twice commanded multi-national counter-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden. It has deployed a Provincial Reconstruction Team to Afghanistan and is providing significant support to the Afghanistan National Security Forces.
The Republic of Korea is a committed member of various international nonproliferation regimes, such as the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, the Missile Technology Control Regime, and the Proliferation Security Initiative.
Indeed, South Korea has also been a leader in fostering international cooperation to stop the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, and related materials. Last September the ROK hosted a highly productive conference involving the 21 nations belonging to the Operational Experts Group of the worldwide Proliferation Security Initiative. Following the conference, South Korea organized a multilateral maritime interdiction exercise off the coast of Busan. In so doing, it set the model for other Pacific nations to hold similar exercises and foster working level cooperation to prevent proliferation activities.
In October, Korea was elected to hold a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council in 2013 and 2014. South Korea was also chosen to host the United Nations’ Green Climate Fund Secretariat, making it the first country in Asia to host a large global environmental agency.
For all these achievements, I think the Republic of Korea should be justifiably proud. And I congratulate you. But hard work remains before us. And I for one am looking forward to the contributions that Korea will be making in the years ahead to address the global challenges that come with these increased responsibilities.
Trade Relationship
The U.S. is also focused on the Asia-Pacific region because no other region will do more to shape our long-term economic future.
The Asia-Pacific, home to four billion people, hosts the world’s largest three democracies: India, the United States, and Indonesia. The majority of U.S. exports go to the Asia-Pacific region. Countries in APEC alone make up 55% of global GDP and purchase 58% of U.S. goods exported worldwide.
We have deep and mutually beneficial economic ties with the ROK. The U.S. is South Korea’s number three trading partner with total bilateral trade in 2011 topping 100 billion dollars. South Korea was our number seven overall trading partner and even higher for certain sectors, particularly in our western states.
The implementation of the KORUS Free Trade Agreement ensures the continued interdependence of our two economies and elevates mutual trade volumes to even higher levels. The agreement, which eliminates 95% of American and Korean tariffs, is expected to boost ROK GDP by up to 6% and create 340,000 jobs. U.S. exports to Korea are expected to increase by $10-12 billion and create 70,000 American jobs.
But the KORUS FTA is more than trade statistics. The KORUS FTA will impact lives. Consumers in both countries will benefit greatly from lower prices and new products.
People-to-People Ties
Our growing people-to-people ties with South Korea complement our economic ties. What stands out about these ties is the degree to which they have been formed by the people themselves, with little or no governmental intervention.
Today there are over two million Koreans and Korean-Americans living and working in the United States. Korean Americans can be found in every corner of the American economy: business owners, doctors, lawyers, bankers, scientists, architects, and teachers.
Increasing numbers of Americans are also living and working in Korea. In 2011, there were over 5,000 American teachers in the ROK.
We also see people-to-people ties expanding through the military.
The Good Neighbor Program is a wonderful way that U.S. Forces Korea engages the local community, government, media, business, university, school, and ROK military.
It is really exciting to see the U.S. military build relationships with their ROK buddy wings and sister units through social and team-building activities. These Good Neighbor events offer excellent opportunities to promote mutual understanding of one another's cultures, customs, and lifestyles between Korean communities and the U.S. military.
Another excellent people-to-people tie is the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA) program. Through this KATUSA program, the Eighth Army is authorized 3,344 Korean soldiers to serve alongside our service members in their brigades and units across the peninsula.
The program is a legacy of the time we fought the Korean War together, since the first KATUSA soldiers were assigned to the 7th Infantry Division to prepare for the 1950 Incheon Landing. South Korean and U.S. soldiers foster close relationships as a result, which often last longer than the program itself.
These important people-to-people ties provide an unshakable foundation for the special partnership between our two countries.
Conclusion
So, ladies and gentlemen, we have an historic and ever strengthening alliance. A growing Global Partnership. Increasingly integrated economies and people-to-people ties that intertwine our societies. Each of these makes our countries better.
And I am confident that the U.S. - Korea relationship will continue to grow stronger through our hard work and dedication. I am so excited to be here as the Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Korea at this incredibly important time in our history. It’s really hard to describe in words what an honor it is for me, as a Korean-American who was born not far from here, to have this opportunity to manage our very special alliance. And I hope I can continue to look to the people in this room as partners in advancing our partnership.
Thank you very much.