Address by President Roh Moo-hyun on the 62nd Anniversary of the National Liberation of Korea
Fellow citizens, North Korean compatriots, and seven million overseas Koreans,
Sixty-two years ago today, we were liberated from the oppressive colonial rule of the Japanese imperialists. On that day, everyone in the nation embraced one another with overwhelming joy and shed tears of elation. The country set out to make a fresh start with new hope. We have finally carved out the Republic of Korea of today where everyone fully enjoys freedom and independence.
I pay wholehearted tribute to our patriotic forefathers, who dedicated everything they had for the independence of the homeland. I offer my deepest respect and gratitude to our patriots who sacrificed themselves for the nation’s independence and to their bereaved families.
Fellow Koreans,
We helplessly lost our country 100 years ago when we had no power to safeguard ourselves. After numerous hardships and much suffering, the country was finally liberated, but had to sustain yet other tragedies of the division of the nation and a fratricidal war.
But we refused to cave in; we rose up again. Weathering countless adversities, we have made miraculous and legendary achievements.
The national per capita income even fell short of a meager $100 half a century ago, but we are now about to enter the era of $20,000 in per capita income. The country has a gross domestic product and trade volume that has grown into the 10th largest in the world, and it holds the fifth largest foreign exchange reserves. With the splendid development of science and technology, Korea posted the fourth largest number of patent applications in the world.
The country is building up sufficient defensive power commensurate with its economic growth. With the 10th strongest elite military power, the Korean armed forces are firmly safeguarding peace on the Korean Peninsula and greatly contributing to peace and stability in the world.
There has been great development in democracy as well. Freedom House, the world-renowned human rights watchdog, rated Korea’s political freedom in the top-tier in the world. Reporters Without Borders also listed Korea above even the United States and Japan in the ranking of freedom of the press.
Our achievements in democracy and economic development are unprecedented in world history. There have been about 100 newly independent nations since the Second World War, but none of them has come close to the doorstep of becoming an advanced country except for Korea.
All these accomplishments are the outcome of the prowess of the ambitiously motivated Korean people and their painstaking efforts. I am grateful to our parents and all the people for the Republic’s success.
Fellow Korean citizens,
We will continue to set our economy in dynamic motion and will move forward toward an advanced democracy both in name and in fact, a country where the entire people can live with dignity.
There is, however, a daunting task that must be resolved in the course of marching forward. Incapable of casting off the yoke of the Cold War, Korea is still the only remaining country divided by Cold War rivalries. The sounds of gunfire have ceased, but we are not yet firmly confident of peace on the Korean Peninsula. Before it is too late, we have to overcome this adverse situation and open a new front for the future of the nation.
The situation surrounding us in Northeast Asia is changing rapidly. China is growing at an astounding pace, and Russia is bracing for a new growth surge. Japan is attempting to become a normal nation by shaking itself free from the postwar regime, and the United States is changing course and charting new global strategies. Even with the dissolution of the Cold War system, an order of peace and coexistence has yet to take firm root. The confrontational atmosphere is likely to boil over again at anytime.
My Participatory Government, has outlined an era of peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia as one of the three administrative goals based on an accurate understanding of the changing situation in Northeast Asia, an excruciating self-reflection on our history and a dispassionate evaluation of the nation’s capabilities.
Without a successful framework of peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia, it is difficult to bring about stable peace on the Korean Peninsula. The ambitious aspiration also reflects our awareness and willingness to proactively pioneer our destiny by taking the initiative to usher in the era of Northeast Asia within that framework.
The Participatory Government has pursued three major strategies to achieve such a goal: balanced and pragmatic diplomacy, cooperative and self-reliant national defense and North Korea policy of trust and engagement.
The balanced and pragmatic diplomacy is a future-oriented and practical strategy for foreign affairs and national security. In light of our strategic position and importance in Northeast Asia, plus our historic experiences, we should play a balancing role to bring about an order of peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia. What really counts is whether we take a firm stand and what kind of vision we have.
To accomplish this, we have developed ROK-U.S. relations into comprehensive and dynamic ties. Korea’s relations with China, Russia and other neighboring countries have reached a higher level as well.
Inspired by these efforts, Korea has accomplished the remarkable feat of producing a UN Secretary-General. Over the course of resolving the issue of the North Korean nuclear program, the country also assumed an active role in mediating differences among the countries during the Six-Party Talks.
As befits Korea’s profile as the 10th largest economy, the Government’s plan for cooperative and self-reliant national defense illustrates our commitment to defending the nation with our own strength.
To date, my Administration has made an effort to overcome the nation’s psychological dependence on the United States while strengthening its potential for self-reliant defense. Guided by this strategy are the transfer of wartime operational control, redeployment of the U.S. Forces Korea, relocation of Yongsan Garrison, and vigorous progress in implementing the National Defense Reform 2020.
Self-reliant defense and the ROK-U.S. alliance must go forward hand in hand. It is simply not a matter of choosing between two alternatives. From this day onward, as it has in the past, the ROK-U.S. alliance will grow into even more robust ties based on mutual respect and close cooperation.
Fellow citizens,
When dealing with North Korea, South Korea has also continued to work ceaselessly toward policies of trust and engagement. As a result of exercising patience to curb hostile acts and engaging in dialogue and persuasion to build trust, inter-Korean relations have consistently advanced even after the breakout of the North Korean nuclear issue.
When compared with the previous Administration, inter-Korean trade has doubled, cooperative projects have grown four times, and people-to-people exchanges jumped seven-fold. Changing inter-Korean relations are symbolized by the reconnection of railroads and the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. A business district that currently employs 16,000 entrepreneurs and workers from South and North Korea, the Gaeseong Industrial Complex will grow into an industrial zone that produces goods worth over $2 billion annually, with its workforce swelling up to 100,000 by the end of the first move-in phase. With military tension under control, there has not been a single armed clash during my Administration’s watch.
The Korean Peninsula is on a more stable footing now than at any other time. As the negative sentiment over Korea’s geopolitical stability gradually ebbs, its sovereign credit rating is rising. An international source said that Korea has surpassed the United States and France on the peace index.
North Korea is also changing. It is much less leery of the South, exhibiting a pragmatic and flexible stance in channels of inter-Korean dialogue and economic cooperation. With many North Korean regulations and organizational structures geared toward reform, awareness of the market economy has spread quickly among its citizens.
North Korea’s potential and its excellent human capital have manifested themselves in many different ways throughout inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation. The productivity of North Korean employees is improving at a surprising pace. Additional progress in inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation will put North Korea’s development on a faster growth trajectory.
Fellow citizens,
The North Korean nuclear program, the biggest issue for our nation over the last four years, is entering onto the road toward a solution.
In 2005, the Six-Party Talks yielded the September 19th Joint Statement that laid out comprehensive answers to the issue of the North Korean nuclear program. More than a mere solution to the North Korean nuclear issue, the Joint Statement provides a larger framework for peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia. The February 13 Action Plan inked this year outlined the specifics by which initial steps have already been taken to completely close North Korea’s nuclear facilities.
I have faith that every concerned member of the Six-Party Talks will follow through on the September 19 Joint Statement and February 13 agreement in good faith.
Fellow citizens,
For the most part, my Administration’s foreign and security policies are approaching materialization. This is the time to take a step forward.
The Six-Party Talks, now shifting into a new phase, has to be managed in a way that it is locked into a virtuous cycle with the inter-Korean dialogue.
Progress in the Six-Party Talks is enlivening the dialogue between the two Koreas. Inter-Korean dialogue, in turn, accelerates the success of the multilateral talks. If the Six-Party Talks advances even more successfully, it will develop into the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.
When the armistice regime is transformed into a peace regime and when the South and North join hands to bring in a new economic era on the Korean Peninsula, it will live up to its title, the hub of the Northeast Asian economy. South Korea will energetically expand into the Eurasian continent and place itself on the map as the hub of trade in goods, finance and business, while North Korea will be given an opportunity to achieve epoch-making economic development.
Fellow Citizens,
In two weeks, I plan to hold an inter-Korean summit with National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il.
The summit is the first in seven years and will serve as an occasion to normalize inter-Korean relations that have gone through difficulties due to the North’s nuclear program. More than anything, the summit will contribute to further solidifying peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula while advancing common South-North prosperity. The meeting is also expected to help the Six-Party Talks make progress, while facilitating development of multilateral ties that should ensue in the future in Northeast Asia.
The South and North have already made comprehensive and concrete agreements on the basic principle of the inter-Korean relationship and the direction of development. They include the July 4, 1972 Joint Communiqué, the 1991 South-North Basic Agreement, the 1992 Joint Declaration of the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the June 15, 2000 South-North Joint Declaration. The four major agreements constitute the firm commitment that past administrations in the South and North have made before the world.
Now is the time for the parties concerned to strive to put the agreements into practice. By respecting the agreements and taking a faithful stance to carry them out, the two sides will be able to develop their relationship into one that is predictable and trustworthy.
Fellow citizens,
I do not plan to be overly ambitious in the forthcoming talks. I would rather not try to make a new historic turning point with this meeting; I will only try my best to materialize what has already transpired historically as I mentioned just now.
What matters most is the fact that the two sides have to bolster understanding and trust toward each other. To this end the two sides have to try to understand each other and compromise what should be compromised. We will seek dialogue for the future, instead of a dispute.
As far as economic cooperation is concerned, I feel we need to start discussing the formation of an inter-Korean economic community. From now on, the two sides need to develop inter-Korean economic cooperation into productive investment collaboration and into two-way cooperation. In this way the South will have more investment opportunities, while the North will have a chance to make an economic turnaround. We intend to make progress one step at a time from the area that is possible.
Throughout the entire summit, I will make careful judgments of the historical mission conferred on me. I will not try to accomplish something for the sake of accomplishing it. Instead, I will do all I can to fulfill my obligation. The summit will be in harmony with the Six-Party Talks and will be carried out in such a way that it expedites their success.
I would like to see the people of the Republic reach a consensus in this regard. I hope you will not burden me by saying, “Don’t do this or don’t do that.” I hope you won’t tell me, “Get this without fail.” I earnestly hope that the nation will gather creative, collective wisdom within a big framework for a brighter future.
Fellow Koreans,
Sixty-two years ago, we were not able to prevent the division of our land. But now, it depends on our determination whether or not the two Koreas cooperate with each other and forge a path of common prosperity. Depending on how we act, we can play a leading role in assuring peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia.
To this end, we all have to take a responsible stance internally as we cope with inter-Korean problems. In dealing with the development of inter-Korean relations, partisan interests have no place. This is not an issue that can be resolved by any one Administration alone. An Administration is expected to do all it can and leave its achievements to the next Administration. The next Administration, in turn, is expected to try harder to reach an even higher level based on existing accomplishments.
With only a short time before the presidential election, the nation’s political parties and politicians are urged to respect the agreements made by the previous Administrations. They should not maintain North Korea policies that are tantamount to retracting the agreements the Republic has made.
Fellow Koreans,
History is going forward. It is shifting from the order of power and confrontation to the order of reconciliation and cooperation. One hundred years ago, the Korean Peninsula was a battlefield of the major powers, but now, the land is poised to become a source of Northeast Asia’s peace and prosperity as it dashes into a promising future.
I believe in the potential of the Korean people who have achieved what they have with sheer determination. I believe in the strength of our nation that has overcome countless challenges over many millennia and created a glorious culture.
Let us write a new chapter of history by utilizing that potential and strength. Let us leave to our sons and daughters as well as grandsons and granddaughters a more peaceful and prosperous future.
Thank you.
웹사이트: http://www.president.go.kr
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2008년 8월 6일 17:22
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