[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 48 (Monday, November 30, 1998)]
[Pages 2369-2370]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Dinner Hosted by President Kim in Seoul

November 21, 1998

    Mr. President, thank you for your kind words and your kind welcome 
to Korea. I am very conscious that this visit, my third to Korea as 
President, comes at a pivotal time in the history of this great nation. 
In that regard, Mr. President, I would like to thank you for giving my 
fellow Americans and me the opportunity to have dinner tonight with such 
a broad range of people from every aspect of Korean society. And 
especially, thank you for having so many young people here, for it is 
their lives that will be most affected by the decisions we must make.
    First, this is a moment of opportunity, on the 50th anniversary of 
your Republic, to complete what you, Mr. President, have called Korea's 
second nation building-- securing in freedom the gains of your 
remarkable postwar transformation. It is also a challenging moment, for 
the Korean people have suffered from the whims of economic disruption 
and dislocation that have blown so strongly throughout all Asia. We in 
the United States have been heartened by the signs that your efforts at 
reform and recovery are beginning to succeed.
    Mr. President, if Korea is on the right path--and I believe it is--
it is not simply because economists have given good advice and

[[Page 2370]]

leaders have made wise choices. More fundamentally, it is because a free 
people have given their leaders a mandate to confront problems with 
candor and the legitimacy to call for shared sacrifices.
    Of course, there are still some who say that democracy is a luxury 
people can afford only when times are good. But Korea is proving that 
democracy can provide the necessary support for action when times are 
difficult.
    At least one person in this room has known that truth for a long, 
long time. You, Mr. President, have committed a lifetime to the idea 
that liberty and prosperity can go hand in hand. For this, you were once 
treated as a dangerous criminal. But we all know that Kim Dae-jung was 
imprisoned not for crimes against his country but for his devotion to 
his country and his determination to put Korea's destiny into the hands 
of its people.
    Now Mr. President, look how your trust in the people has been 
rewarded. They have transferred you from a prison cell to the Blue 
House. Although, if I might say only partly in jest, on the hard days, I 
imagine being in this job can feel like a form of solitary confinement.
    But this is a burden you have chosen to bear. What challenges you 
have embraced: protecting the security of your people while engaging 
their relatives in the North, restoring Korea's economy to growth while 
meeting human needs, and always maintaining the spirit of democracy.
    Many years ago, President Kim said these words: ``There are several 
paths to the mountaintop. During the course of climbing, the path we 
have chosen may seem to be the most treacherous, and the others may seem 
quite easy. There will be constant temptations to change course, but one 
should not succumb to them. Once on the mountaintop, there will be 
freedom to choose which path to follow on the descent.''
    All across Asia people once wondered which path Korea would choose. 
Now, Korea's answer--your answer, Mr. President--is helping to define 
what Asia's path will be in the 21st century. I believe Asia will emerge 
from this present crisis more prosperous, more stable, more democratic, 
thanks in no small measure to Korea's example.
    Mr. President, we look forward to walking with you into the future, 
through hard times and good times, as allies, as friends, as 
pathfinders.
    I ask now that all of you join me in a toast of appreciation to 
President Kim and to the people of Korea, and to the values and the 
future our nations will share.

Note: The President spoke at 7:50 p.m. in the State Banquet Room at the 
Blue House. The transcript made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary also included the remarks of President Kim. A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of these remarks.