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Park says Korea-U.S. alliance will be cornerstone for reunified Korea
President urges China to play bigger role in changing North Korea
By Lee Joo-hee
Korea Herald correspondent
WASHINGTON -- President Park Geun-hye hailed the Korea-U.S. alliance Tuesday (Wednesday Korea time) as the pillar for a reunified Korea, future Northeast Asian order and the two countries’ cooperation to address global security and poverty.
Park, who pledged a stronger partnership with U.S. President Barack Obama earlier in the day, laid out her vision of the 60-year-old alliance’s future.
“The alliance of South Korea and the U.S. will be a cornerstone for the unfettered and reunified Korean Peninsula,” Park said at a dinner celebrating the anniversary at Smithsonian museum in Washington.
She added that it served as a pillar of Northeast Asia’s cooperation in seeking peace and prosperity that step beyond regional conflict and confrontation.
“Thirdly, the Korea-U.S. alliance will become the roof under which our neighbors suffering from conflicts and poverty in different parts of the world can be provided with peace and prosperity,” Park said.
“I believe that the two countries will go together in creating a new order in the Northeast Asian region.”
Park is scheduled to deliver a lengthy speech in English before the joint meeting of the Congress Wednesday, summing up her trustpolitik approach toward North Korea and her Northeast Asia peace initiative.
Park repeated this point again during an interview with the Washington Post earlier on Tuesday. “While it may not seem like much, I think the state of emotions here in the region can be quite risky and dangerous, so if we could build trust, this is a project which I wish to pursue jointly with the United States and in fact it is what I suggested to President Obama in my meeting with him.”
The president said she believed Beijing could play even a bigger role in persuading North Korea towards change as China’s growth and development through reform and opening offers a “very good model” for Pyongyang to follow.
Park also mentioned the on-going history row with Japan that has been stepping up its nationalist stance to glorify its military past.
“The Japanese have been opening past wounds and have been letting them fester, and this applies not only to Korea but also to other neighboring countries … This arrests our ability to really build on momentum, so I hope that Japan reflects upon itself,” Park was quoted as saying.
Park filled her second day in Washington with events to mark the six decades of the unrivaled alliance with the U.S., capping the day off with the dinner to thank the support from the U.S. throughout the years and to vow closer solidarity in the future. From the Korean side, presidential aids, ministers and some 50 business delegates attended. Around 400 participants joined from the U.S. side including Peace Corps members, former and incumbent U.S. government officials, members of American academia, business executives and Korean War veterans. Prior to the dinner, Park briefly met with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and his wife.
“The ultimate purpose to be sought after by the Korea-U.S. alliance is to contribute to the happiness of all humankind,” Park said in her speech, which was received with thunderous applause from the participants on several occasions.
In tune with her jingle for creating a “creative economy,” Park emphasized the importance of culture in bringing peace and said that the Korea-U.S. alliance that goes beyond security and economy to culture will contribute to reaching the common values. Dressed in hanbok, Park also thanked Americans for their dedication and friendship.
In between the summit talks and dinner, Park met with World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and discussed ways to cooperate in helping developing countries fight poverty and fostering sustainable development around the world.
The second half of her U.S. trip will be business-focused, starting off with a breakfast meeting with the business delegation that joined the president in the U.S. capital on Wednesday (Thursday Korea time). The delegation includes the largest-ever number of conglomerate owners, including Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee.
Officials said small and mid-sized businesses as well as the large conglomerates that represent Korea will join the delegation to help the new government promote wider investor relations. The focus is to assure American investors that South Korea remains undeterred despite the repeated military threats from North Korea. It is also the first such gathering between Park and the business leaders although she has visited representative business federations since her inauguration. Park and the business circles had a shaky start as one of her core campaign pledges was to implement economic democratization measures aimed to sternly curb unfairness practiced by chaebols in the markets and help foster smaller companies.
At the breakfast, Park and the business leaders are expected to discuss the outcome of the summit talks, the direction of the government’s economic policy, expanding investment and employment opportunities and enhancing cooperation with the U.S. for the creative economy. They will then attend a roundtable hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce later in the day.
Park is to stop over in Los Angeles before returning home on Thursday (Friday Korea time).
(jhl@heraldcorp.com)
