April 17, 2008
This week, the new president of the Republic of Korea, Lee Myung-bak, will visit Washington to reaffirm the strong bonds that tie together our great democracies. Lee's visit is an opportunity to celebrate our friendship with the Korean people and to remember that American security and respect in the world have always depended on our leadership and our steadfast support of freedom on every continent.
Six decades ago, Americans fought to defend freedom on the Korean peninsula and 36,000 made the ultimate sacrifice. In the skies over Korea and on frozen battlefields such as the Chosin Reservoir, brave Americans stopped the advance of the transcendent threat of their time: a totalitarian ideology that had already enslaved a third of the world's population.
Many of those who served were reservists, called up after settling comfortably into civilian life after World War II. On the home front, many asked why Americans were drawn into a conflict so far from home. Later, skeptics would question if Koreans were capable of building democracy at all.
No one raises those questions today. Korea is a vibrant democracy of 49 million people and the 12th-largest economy in the world. Korea stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the United States, defending freedom not only in East Asia, but also across the entire globe, deploying the third-largest contingent to Iraq, serving with distinction in rebuilding Afghanistan, and leading critical peacekeeping operations.
Americans owe a debt of gratitude to our Korean
allies, and the Korean people understand the bond we share. When a Korean
newspaper asked recently what country its readers liked most, they answered the
United States.
Yet as remarkable as the story of freedom is in South Korea, the situation in the north is horrific. Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans languish in gulags and internal exile. Millions go malnourished as the regime tests missiles, sells illegal drugs and - in spite of our diplomatic efforts - continues work on its nuclear arsenal.
We will not convince Kim Jong Il to abandon his nuclear weapons - let alone end his horrific treatment of his people - by promising that the president of the United States will unconditionally sit down with him to ask what else he wants. We know what he wants: a diminished American presence in Asia; payments for one part of his nuclear program and no accountability for others; and a free hand for his regime to torture underground Christians, execute dissidents and starve the disloyal.
President Lee stated clearly that he will continue seeking ways to help the North Korean people and advance reconciliation with the north, but will expect full reciprocity in terms of denuclearization, human rights and information about hundreds of South Koreans abducted by Pyongyang. Predictably, North Korea rejected these conditions.
Yet we must support Lee. Any agreement with North Korea must be reached after full and close consultation with South Korea and Japan, ensuring their legitimate concerns are fully met. A united front with our democratic allies is essential.
Lee's visit also reminds us of the importance of supporting free trade. We have negotiated a trade agreement with South Korea that will expand American exports and create American jobs. The Democratic candidates for president both oppose this agreement, thus placing their short-term political interests ahead of the long-term national interest. Retreating behind protectionist walls will neither create American jobs nor further our international credibility.
In Washington, Lee will find strong bipartisan support for our alliance with the Republic of Korea, broad admiration for the enormous successes of the Korean people and deep gratitude for the contributions of Korean-Americans to our own society.
Yet that is not enough. The principles for which so many of our fathers and grandfathers sacrificed their lives demand that we build a united front with democratic allies like South Korea instead of rushing to placate Kim Jong Il with a presidential visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment