Joint Declaration in Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the Alliance

Details: Tuesday, May 07 , 2013 | 3:00 PM

Event Content: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-korea-society/id210903888
Event Link: <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>For Immediate Release</strong><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>May 07, 2013  </strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong> </strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000; font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Joint Declaration in Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the Alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America</strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000; font-size: 14pt;"><strong> </strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>For six decades, the U.S.-ROK Alliance has served as an anchor for stability, security, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, in the Asia-Pacific region, and increasingly around the world.  President Barack Obama of the United States of America and President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea, meeting in Washington, D.C. onMay 7, 2013, present this Joint Declaration in celebration of sixty years of bilateral partnership and shared prosperity.  The two leaders affirm that the Alliance is well-placed to address the opportunities and challenges of the future.</strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>The U.S.-ROK Alliance, forged in the Korean War and founded on the 1953 United States-Republic of Korea Mutual Defense Treaty, has evolved into a comprehensive strategic alliance with deep cooperation extending beyond security to also encompass the political, economic, cultural, and people-to-people realms.  The freedom, friendship, and shared prosperity we enjoy today rest upon our shared values of liberty, democracy, and a market economy.</strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Building on the past sixty years of stability on the Korean Peninsula, we continue to strengthen and adapt our Alliance to serve as a linchpin of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific and to meet the security challenges of the 21st century.  The United States remains firmly committed to the defense of the Republic of Korea, including through extended deterrence and the full range of U.S. military capabilities, both conventional and nuclear.</strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>This year also marks another milestone for our two nations - the first anniversary of the entry into force of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA).  This agreement embodies the positive evolution of our partnership and demonstrates how deeply the United States and the Republic of Korea are committed to a shared future of growth and prosperity.  We are pleased to note the positive results of the KORUS FTA, including increased trade and investment between our two countries, and recognize its potential for expanding bilateral cooperation and business opportunities, including in the energy sector.  Our two countries will fully implement the KORUS FTA to ensure that the agreement serves as an economic growth engine in both our countries.</strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>We are pleased with the significant progress made in realizing the 2009 Joint Vision for the Alliance of the United States of America and the Republic of Korea, which lays out a blueprint for the future development of our strategic Alliance.  We pledge to continue to build a better and more secure future for all Korean people, working on the basis of the Joint Vision to foster enduring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and its peaceful reunification based on the principles of denuclearization, democracy and a free market economy.  In this context, the United States and the Republic of Korea will continue to work through the Alliance to bring North Korea in to compliance with its international obligations and promote peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, including through the trust-building process initiated by President Park.</strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>We share the deep concern that North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missiles programs and its repeated provocations pose grave threats to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.  Both the United States and the Republic of Korea are determined to achieve the peaceful denuclearization of North Korea and are working with other Six-Party Talks partners and the international community to insist that North Korea adheres to its international obligations and commitments.  While we invite North Korea to take the path that leads out of isolation and to join the community of nations as a responsible member, we are resolved to continue to defend our citizens against North Korea's provocations by strengthening our comprehensive, interoperable, and combined defense capabilities, to include shared efforts to counter the missile threat posed by North Korea and integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems.  Because both the United States and the Republic of Korea share a deep concern for the well-being of the North Korean people, we encourage North Korea to invest in, and improve, the conditions for its citizens and to respect their basic human rights.</strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>The peace and prosperity of both our nations are inextricably linked to regional and global security and economic growth.  Based on the solid U.S.-ROK Alliance, we are prepared to address our common challenges and seek ways to build an era of peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia.  The U.S.-ROK Alliance is an increasingly global partnership, and the United States welcomes the Republic of Korea's leadership and active engagement on the world stage, including in international fora.  We will strengthen our efforts to address global challenges such as climate change and to promote clean energy, energy security, human rights, humanitarian assistance, development assistance cooperation, counter-terrorism, peaceful uses of nuclear energy, nuclear safety, non-proliferation, cybersecurity, and counter-piracy.</strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Our sixty years of partnership and shared prosperity have demonstrated that the strength of our Alliance stems from the close relationships between our peoples.  The large Korean-American community in the United States not only serves as a significant link between our two countries, but also makes countless contributions to the strength and vitality of American society.  We pledge to continue programs and efforts to build even closer ties between our societies, including cooperation among business, civic, academic, and other institutions.</strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>As allies and Asia-Pacific nations, we look forward to shaping together the future of Asia for generations to come.</strong></span></p>
Custom HTML field content: THE OFFICIAL JOINT DECLARATION
Custom HTML field 2 title: <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="line-height: 1.3em;">STEPHEN NOERPER:</strong></p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Welcome to Studio Korea First Take, a rapid reaction report, and welcome to The Korea Society. I am Stephen Noerper, senior vice president.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">For reflections on the historic May summit between Presidents Park Geun-hye and Barack Obama, we are joined by Scott Snyder, senior fellow for Korea studies and director of the program on US-Korea policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. Welcome, Scott. I'm delighted to have you back.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>SCOTT SNYDER:</strong></p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Good to be here, Steve.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>STEPHEN NOERPER:</strong></p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Scott, your thoughts on the meeting between Presidents Park and Obama and the atmospherics conveyed.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>SCOTT SNYDER:</strong></p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Well, this was the first in-person meeting for both presidents. I thought that both of them worked hard to project messages of assurance to each other on the basis of close cooperation and shared common interests. President Obama, I think, indicated clearly the US security and defense commitments to South Korea. He also cited in his remarks that President Park is a cool and seasoned crisis manager who has [already] shown her strong leadership qualities in office.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>STEPHEN NOERPER:</strong></p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">And how does the Joint Declaration between the two [countries] hold up against the 2009 Joint Statement?</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>SCOTT SNYDER:</strong></p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">This is the 60th anniversary of the US-Korea alliance [and] this Joint Declaration was released in that context. It draws on many elements of the June, 2009 Joint Vision that was released when President Lee visited President Obama, but there are a couple of differences.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">One is that the challenge of dealing with North Korea was elevated in the statement. [Secondly], this statement is much more focused on the Peninsula than on global cooperation; although global cooperation is included in the statement as a shared objective. A third aspect is that it talks about President Park's own desire to build trust with North Korea; but it clearly places that trust-building process in the context of the objective of trying to bring North Korea into compliance with its international obligations.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">I think it's a strong statement. It very much shows that this is a comprehensive strategic alliance. It shows a measure of progress compared to where we were in 2009; but I think it's much more focused on the joint sense of purpose in trying to respond to the challenge posed by North Korea.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>STEPHEN NOERPER:</strong></p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Scott, what do you think will be the reaction in Pyongyang?</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>SCOTT SNYDER:</strong></p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">I think that both presidents delivered a strong and stern message that the leadership in Pyongyang [will probably not enjoy hearing]. At the same time, the North Koreans do tend to view public statements of this sort as propaganda. They also have propaganda that they release. I think that with regards to their ongoing efforts to evaluate Park Geun-hye, [the missing element] is probably that we don't see yet (and perhaps won't see for a period of time) whether or not, or how, the South Korean government positions itself in terms of any private messages that it tries to deliver to North Korea; and whether North Korea can find a way to respond.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Certainly President Park's approach seems a little bit more open in terms of trying to engage North Korea, but it also has a lot of elements of commonality with the approach of President Lee. It's going to be very interesting to see whether North Korea is willing to pick up on the positive elements, or whether they move into a more confrontational approach as they try to manage the inter-Korean relationship.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>STEPHEN NOERPER:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Scott Snyder of the Council on Foreign Relations. Thank you.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>
Custom HTML field 2 content: SNYDER ON THE PARK-OBAMA SUMMIT
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