[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 1858]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  (At the request of Mr. Reid, the following statement was ordered to 
be printed in the Record.)

             INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT-ELECT LEE MYUNG-BAK

 Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, in just 2 weeks President-elect Lee 
Myung-bak will be inaugurated as the next President of South Korea. His 
inauguration offers a fresh opportunity to reaffirm and reinvigorate 
the U.S.-South Korea relationship for a new era.
  The U.S.-ROK alliance has been a remarkably strong and successful 
one. Forged in blood during the Korean war more than a half-century 
ago, the alliance has sustained itself through the crucible of the cold 
war and remains central to U.S. security policy in East Asia. Our bonds 
have only deepened through the extensive social and cultural ties that 
have formed between our two countries, including 100,000 Americans who 
live in Korea, and the 2 million Korean-Americans who enrich our 
society through their classic American ethic of hard work, strong 
families, and tight-knit church communities.
  Nonetheless, I do not think it is an overstatement to say that the 
U.S.-Korea relationship has been adrift in recent years. At the heart 
of it have been our respective approaches to North Korea. The Bush 
administration has been divided within itself on how to deal with 
Pyongyang, branding it a member of the ``Axis of Evil'' and refusing 
bilateral discussions with it before subsequently reversing course. 
This unsteady approach not only has allowed North Korea to expand its 
nuclear arsenal as it has resumed reprocessing of plutonium and tested 
a nuclear device. It also has understandably caused anxiety in South 
Korea, as its leaders and people have tried to figure out what the Bush 
administration policy is.
  I have no illusions about North Korea, and we must be firm and 
unyielding in our commitment to a nonnuclear Korean peninsula. In the 
process we must pay attention to the interests of the South Korean 
people to ensure that we move forward in unity and common purpose.
  The U.S.-Korea economic relationship has also benefited both nations 
and deepened our ties. I look forward as well to supporting ways to 
increase our bilateral trade and investment ties through agreements 
paying proper attention to our key industries and agricultural sectors, 
such as autos, rice, and beef, and to protection of labor and 
environmental standards. Regrettably, the U.S.-Korea Free Trade 
Agreement does not meet this standard.
  Given the importance of getting this relationship right I would 
encourage President Bush to invite President Lee to the White House as 
early as possible after his inauguration as a signal of the commitment 
of the United States to the alliance, and to reaffirm the importance of 
the alliance to the United States. In the process, we need to work with 
South Korea on a common vision for the alliance to meet the challenges 
of the 21st century, not only those on the Korean Peninsula but in the 
region and beyond.
  An alliance that once was built solely on defense against common 
threats must today be built also on our shared values and strong mutual 
interests. I congratulate President-elect Lee on his election, pass on 
my good wishes for him and the Korean people for his inauguration, and 
honor the Korean people for their vibrant democracy. I look forward to 
the opportunity to work with him in the years ahead to replenish and 
revitalize this crucial relationship.

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