President Roh Moo-hyun Holds Press Conference Concerning the North Korean Nuclear Test and the Korea-Japan Summit
Opening Statement
Good evening.
This occasion was initially arranged for me to explain the outcome of the Korea-Japan summit, which was held this afternoon. As the unforeseen incident concerning the North Korean nuclear issue occurred this morning, however, I would speak first on the North Korean nuclear issue first and then mention today's summit later on.
As you are well aware, I received reports this morning that tremors were detected in the North at around 10:30 a.m. and that North Korea made an official announcement subsequently around 12:00 noon that it had successfully conducted a nuclear test. Scientific verification is underway to confirm whether this was indeed a nuclear test and whether the test was really successful. Nonetheless, the Republic of Korea cannot but define North Korea's official announcement of a nuclear test as a serious development and respond to it accordingly.
North Korea's execution of a nuclear test constitutes a serious development that undermines peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as well as in Northeast Asia, thereby dashing the hope of the Korean people and the international community for the denuclearized Korean Peninsula. The Government of the Republic of Korea will proactively gather broad views on the situation involving the North Korean nuclear test from the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties as well as other opinion leaders. It will continue to cope with the situation in a cool-headed and resolute manner while closely consulting with the international community.
I understand that the Korean public is tremendously concerned about national security in light of this nuclear test by North Korea. Based on the ROK-U.S. alliance, however, our Armed Forces are fully prepared and equipped to thwart any provocation from the North.
The Government will continue to make assertive efforts to minimize any negative impact of this development on the national economy. I urge the Korean people to trust the Government's efforts while remaining calm in the current situation and going about their business as usual.
My comment on the North Korean nuclear issue was brief because you already received the official Government statement on the result of the National Security Council meeting. I limited myself to a supplementary explanation to avoid repeating what was covered in the statement.
I hope you understand that the remainder of the Government position is explained in the Government statement on the outcome of the National Security Council meeting, which is also my stance as well.
Now I will speak on the outcome of the Korea-Japan summit of today.
Today's summit was held for two hours, and we had a sincere conversation. We touched upon various issues on the overall Korea-Japan relations but the emphasis of the meeting was on ways to respond to North Korea's announcement of a nuclear test and historical issues between the two governments. I will clarify separately what Prime Minister Abe and I discussed with regard to the nuclear test if you raise further questions. Meanwhile, I would like to go over only the fundamental principles of Korea-Japan relations and the history issues.
Prime Minister Abe and I shared an understanding that bilateral relations as well as amicable and cooperative ties are quite important not only for the two nations but also for the peace and order of common prosperity in Northeast Asia and ultimately all of East Asia. This is the recognition that I have harbored all along. The Prime Minister and I also shared a common view that our bilateral ties should not dwell on the past any longer but should look ahead at the future and be channeled in a future-oriented direction.
In addition, there were also discussions about the added importance to both countries of the fact that Korea-Japan relations serve as the basis for shaping up multilateral security collaboration in Northeast Asia as well as cooperative ties in the region concerning a monetary and financial order.
With regard to the history issues, I explained my view that they must be resolved because, while they belong to the past, they are not long-gone altogether but still breathe in our times and become a roadblock to the development of future-oriented relations.
I stressed that the history issues are quite important as far as Korea is concerned because, if the history issues are not resolved in a reasonable manner, it will leave ceaseless distrust and uneasiness festering in Northeast Asia and eventually chip away at future ties. Accordingly, I raised several specific issues that need to be resolved although the overall historical issues need to be resolved.
We talked about visits to the Yasukuni Shrine. I also mentioned that, if the history issues, such as the distortion of (Japanese) history textbooks and the sex slaves of the Japanese military during World War II, remain unsolved, they will become serious stumbling blocks in the future of Korea-Japan relations. I requested that the Japanese Government show proactive and sincere efforts to resolve these issues.
In response, Prime Minister Abe noted that his administration would take on the Japanese Government's position as announced officially by the administration of former Prime Minster Tomiichi Murayama concerning historical issues between the two countries. On the issue of the Japanese military sex slaves, Prime Minister Abe also mentioned that the Japanese Government's recognition of the issue as expounded by former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono continues to remain in effect.
With regard to the history textbook issue, the first-term Korea-Japan Joint History Research Committee has ended with few noteworthy results and the second-term Joint History Research Committee is yet to be launched. Here, Prime Minister Abe stated that he would try to help launch the second-term committee by the end of the year.
In addition, the Prime Minister emphasized once again that Korea and Japan both share common values of democracy and a market economy and that bilateral cooperation is quite significant. He also stressed that, as a peace-loving nation, Japan has never threatened the safety of any other country and has actively contributed to the international community for the past 60 years.
In light of this, Prime Minister Abe stated in broad terms that he takes in with a heavy heart the sentiments of the Korean people about past history and that he would endeavor to construct future-oriented bilateral ties.
He also made it clear that he would take appropriate measures in future in terms of overcoming political difficulties lying between the two countries and contributing to the healthy development of bilateral relations.
웹사이트: http://www.president.go.kr
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2008년 8월 6일 17:22
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