[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 122 (Wednesday, July 26, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H7704-H7705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY KIM YONG-SAM, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF 
                                 KOREA

  HIS EXCELLENCY KIM YONG-SAM. Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, 
distinguished Members of the Senate and the House, ladies and 
gentlemen, I am deeply grateful to all of you for giving me the honor 
of addressing you in this historic Chamber of democracy, which 
represents the great American people.
  As I stand here now, I feel as comfortable as if I were warmly 
meeting old friends in my hometown. This is probably because our own 
National Assembly became like a second home to me, since I served in it 
for nearly 40 years, after being elected for the first time at the age 
of 25. Furthermore, I have always felt an affinity with this august 
body for your unwavering support in the course of our long and painful 
struggles for the democratization of the Republic of Korea. For that I 
am deeply grateful.
  We Koreans feel a very warm sense of friendship toward the American 
people, who have always stood beside us as we built Korea into the 
country it is today, with blood, sweat and tears. At the same time, we 
earnestly hope that these ties of solidarity between our two countries 
will continue to mature as we approach the new century, which is 
opening new horizons for all humanity.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, the end of World War II in 1945 brought 
the blessings of liberation and independence to the Korean people. 
However, that was short-lived, since we soon were faced with the 
historic misfortune of national division, and 5 years later, the 
tragedy of fratricidal war.
  Faced with the vestiges of colonial rule, the legacies of poverty, 
the ruins of war and the threat of communism, the Korean people set out 
to build a country. We moved forward with great hope for the future and 
a determination to achieve prosperity. It is this hope and 
determination that have fueled us as we have striven tirelessly for the 
past 40 years. And it is this hope and determination which have created 
today's Republic of Korea, a country which started out as one of the 
poorest in the world but which today is the world's 11th biggest 
economic power.
  More important than all our other achievements, however, is that 
democracy has now fully blossomed in Korea. The division of the Korean 
Peninsula and the military confrontation between the South and the 
North have cast long dark shadows over the flowering of Korean 
democracy. Nonetheless, after a long and tenacious struggle for freedom 
and dignity, the people of the Republic of Korea were able to finally 
open an era of civilian-ruled democracy.
  Over the last 2 years, we have poured all our efforts into bold 
changes and reforms to eradicate the ills left over from the era of 
military dictatorship and to build a truly democratic society. We have 
poured all our efforts into bold changes and reform, to build a true 
democracy in Korea. Beginning last year, we launched our segyehwa, or 
globalization, policy and have been striving to turn our country into 
one which can make a greater contribution to the prosperity and well-
being of the global community.
  This is the story of the Republic of Korea, a country which began 
with nothing but bare hands and courage but managed to achieve 
democratization and industrialization in a short period of time, a 
country now proudly marching out toward the world and into the future.
  Members of Congress, the Republic of Korea's success is, above all, 
the fruit of peace. If peace had not been maintained on the Korean 
Peninsula, the Korean people would not be able to enjoy the freedom and 
prosperity they have today. Peace, however, is something which must be 
purchased at a high price. Many young Americans shed their blood on the 
Korean Peninsula. Tomorrow will be a meaningful and emotional day, 
since all of us will gather to honor once again the Korean war heroes. 
The Korean War Veterans Memorial, which will be dedicated tomorrow, the 
42d anniversary of the Korean war armistice, eloquently testifies to 
how precious peace is.
  On behalf of the Korean people, I would like to take this opportunity 
to pay my respects to the memory of those young Americans who 
sacrificed their lives on Korea's battle front and express deep 
gratitude to all those brave soldiers who took part in the Korean war.
  Just before I came to this Chamber, I had a chance to meet some of 
the Korean war veterans, and I would like to take this opportunity to 
pay my respects to the 28 Members of Congress who participated in the 
Korean war as young American soldiers. At the same time, I extend the 
gratitude of the Korean people to all the American soldiers who have 
guarded our Republic's frontline over the last 40-odd years and to 
their families.
  Only a half century ago, our two countries felt very far apart, 
separated by the Pacific Ocean. Now we have become the closest friends. 
Instead of aid being given in only one direction, we have now forged a 
mature partnership where we help each other reciprocally, as we 
together strive toward continued freedom and prosperity.
  The seeds of friendship our two countries have jointly nurtured have 
yielded a rich harvest. the success of our Republic is a joint victory 
of the people of Korea and the United States.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, and Members of Congress, the curtain has 
already been raised on the Asia-Pacific era. The Republic of Korea and 
the United States must open this era and reap its benefits even more 
fully through stronger solidarity.
  The Asia-Pacific region has emerged as a new powerhouse of global 
development on the strength of its vigorous and sustained growth. This 
has been made possible by the United States long-term maintenance of 
stability and peace within the region. For the Asia-Pacific era to 
fully blossom, the United States must continue to play this role. Above 
all, safeguarding peace on the Korean Peninsula, situated at the heart 
of Northeast Asia, has become the key to
 the stability of the entire region.

  More than 1.5 million heavily armed troops stand in sharp 
confrontation on the Korean Peninsula, the last remaining theater of 
the cold war. For over 40 years, the United States forces in Korea have 
made a decisive contribution to deterring war and preserving peace on 
the Korean Peninsula.

[[Page H7705]]

  I would like to make it very clear to all of you today, to maintain 
peace in the Korean Peninsula and to maintain stability in the Asia-
Pacific region, the United States forces in the Republic of Korea is 
necessary. The heightening of tension over the North Korean nuclear 
issue illustrates how potentially unstable the Korean Peninsula can be. 
We support the Kuala Lumpur accord reached between the United States 
and North Korea on the nuclear issue. Joint Korea-United States efforts 
to resolve the North Korean nuclear problem must be solidly maintained 
until all suspicions about North Korea's nuclear development have been 
removed. Accordingly, the Korean Government will exert its utmost 
efforts to ensure that the United States-North Korea agreed framework 
signed in Geneva is faithfully implemented.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, peace on the Korean Peninsula can only 
take root through dialog and cooperation between the South and the 
North, the two parties directly concerned. Without dialog, nothing can 
be accomplished. I am thus grateful that both the President and 
Congress have stressed the central importance of the South-North 
dialog.
  We are exerting our utmost efforts to make this year a historic year, 
one which sees the opening of a new chapter in South-North relations, 
as we mark the 50th anniversary of Korea's joyous liberation, as well 
as its tragic national division. The Republic's unification policy aims 
to ultimately make Korea one nation and one state by gradually 
restoring a sense of national community through peaceful coexistence, 
reconciliation, and cooperation with the North. To that end, stability 
in North Korea is indispensable; therefore, we are pursuing a joint 
national development plan designed to promote the mutual prosperity of 
the South and the North. It is for this reason that the Republic is 
planning to shoulder the brunt of the costs of providing North Korea 
with the Korean-model light-water nuclear reactors and playing a 
central role in the overall project.
  For the same reason, we are expanding South-North economic 
cooperation. Purely out of compassion for our Northern brethren, we are 
also providing rice to North Korea to help alleviate their difficult 
food situation. No matter how long and rough the road leading to the 
unification of the Korean Peninsula may be, we will continue to travel 
that road patiently but without rest. When the day comes that the 
Korean Peninsula finally becomes one nation again, genuine peace and 
prosperity will finally prevail in Northeast Asia.
  This unified Korea, I believe, will make a major contribution to the 
progress of global civilization and the prosperity of all mankind.
  Members of Congress, to foster the prosperity of the entire Asia-
Pacific region, we must make sure that the ideals of free trade and 
liberalization take root throughout the region. After World War II, the 
open markets of the Free World, under the leadership of the United 
States, were a critical factor in reducing poverty and defeating 
Communism.
  Korea has indeed benefited greatly from free trade. I believe that 
all countries in the Asia-Pacific region should also benefit from free 
trade. It is precisely for this reason that, together with President 
Clinton, I have been devoting particular efforts to the development of 
the APEC forum. The Korean Government is also actively supporting 
multilateral cooperation under the new WTO system.
  The United States is our Republic's biggest trading partner, while 
Korea has grown to be America's sixth largest market. Last year, 
bilateral trade exceeded U.S. $40 billion, and it will soon reach the 
$50 billion level. Korean-United States trade has generally been 
balanced, although recently Korea's trade deficit with the United 
States has risen rapidly.
  Through our segyehwa, or globalization policy, the Korean Government 
has been actively promoting openness and autonomy in the economy and 
every other sector of society. We will continue to pursue our policy of 
liberalization in earnest and, by joining the OECD, we will raise our 
degree of openness to the level of the advanced countries. Among the 
developing countries, Korea has been liberalizing its markets at the 
fastest rate. As we continue to pursue autonomy and openness in the 
future, the Republic will become an even stronger partner of the United 
States in boosting the prosperity of the entire Asia-Pacific region.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, and Members of Congress, a new world is 
unfolding before us in the 21st century. The importance of the role of 
the United States, however, has not diminished.
  The Republic of Korea will expand its role and responsibilities in 
the international community. We plan to expand our assistance to 
developing countries drawing upon our past development experiences and 
also actively participating in international efforts to solve global 
problems.
  The Korean people are filled with the hope that the cooperation 
between our two countries in preparation for the Asia-Pacific era of 
the 21st century will help turn the wheels of history swiftly forward. 
We are filled with determination to build a unified Korea and work with 
the American people as partners in peace and prosperity and thereby 
make a greater contribution to the world and to humanity.
  This is the message from the Korean people I wish to deliver to you 
today. I am certain that you will recognize these sentiments, for they 
are the same as those which forged the American spirit and built such a 
great nation in the New World.
  Let us march forward together shoulder to shoulder. Let us together 
open a new century and a new world that will abound with limitless 
dreams, hopes and possibilities.
  Many things have their limitations, but not the yearning of humanity 
for peace and prosperity. Like our friendship, it is boundless.
  Thank you very much.
  (Applause, the Members rising.)
  At 11 o'clock and 44 minutes a.m., the President of the Republic of 
Korea, accompanied by the committee of escort, retired from the Hall of 
the House of Representatives.
  The assistant to the Sergeant at Arms escorted the invited guests 
from the Chamber in the following order:
  The Ambassadors, Ministers, and Charges d'Affaires of foreign 
governments.

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