Speech
at the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea Luncheon
by His Excellency Yu Myung-hwan,
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Seoul, 11 March 2009

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,

Let me begin by thanking Secretary-General Jean Marie Hurtiger for organizing this meaningful event. I also thank the esteemed members of the EU Chamber of Commerce, representatives of EU members, and other distinguished guests for gracing us with their presence today.

I wish to express my deep appreciation to the members of the EU chamber of commerce for all that they've done for the Korean economy and for promoting the bonds of cooperation between Korea and the EU.

As I'm sure you're aware, the EU is Korea's largest foreign investor and is second only to China in terms of trade with Korea.

Today I wish to reflect and offer a few thoughts on Korea's foreign policy direction for 2009 and the Korea-EU relationship.

Over the past year, the new administration has been consolidating the framework for our strategic cooperation with our neighbors including the US, Japan, China and Russia, and endeavoring to further enhance our relationship with these countries.

In the global arena, Korea has also been taking active part in international efforts to fashion a common response to global challenges such as the financial crisis and climate change, by participating in the July G8 Toyako Expanded Summit, the Beijing ASEM summit in October and the G20 Washington Summit in November.

At a time when the US-triggered global financial crisis is deepening and North Korea's provocative threats are becoming increasingly palpable, it is incumbent upon us to meet various challenges by thoroughly monitoring developments and carefully calibrating our foreign policy.  

First off, my government wishes to actively partake in and offer a measure of assistance to global efforts to deal with the world financial crisis. We will also work closely with the international community and respond firmly to North Korea's provocative actions along the nuclear and missile dimensions.

In tandem with our efforts to strengthen relations with our neighbors, we will also further cultivate our relationship with the EU, Asian countries, among others, and seek to enlarge our contributions to the international community. It is against this backdrop that President Lee's New Asia Vision was unveiled during his visit to Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia last week.

As part of our efforts to cope with the global financial crisis and revitalize the Korean economy, my government is undertaking aggressive fiscal and monetary actions.

We are also working to create 960 thousand jobs over the course of the next four years through the Green New Deal program. At the same time, as a member of the G20 Troika, Korea is determined to take active part in global efforts to take on the financial crisis and support the recovery of the global economy such as during the London financial summit on April 2nd.

Let me now turn to the Korean peninsula.

The peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue is essential not only to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia, but also to the cause of global nonproliferation. The Six Party Talks has served as a useful framework for seeking a peaceful resolution to this issue.

The Six Party Talks now stand at a critical juncture between the completion of the second phase and commencement of the third phase of denuclearization. Yet, we have not seen progress on the verification issue, and completion of the second phase is being pushed back. More recently, North Korea has been heightening tensions by stepping up its invective towards the South and preparing to launch a missile.

Irrespective of whether the vehicle is a missile or satellite, such a launch constitutes a breach of UN Security Council resolution 1718 and threatens  peace both in Northeast Asia and internationally. We're also concerned that it would be inimical to the Six Party process.

Under these circumstances, my government has been undertaking sustained diplomatic efforts to advance denuclearization in the North and deal with Pyongyang's missile activities in close concert with the relevant countries, the chain of meetings with my counterparts in the US, China, and Japan being an example.

Last Monday, we held talks with Special Representative Stephen Bosworth, during which we shared in the need to jointly deal with North Korea's nuclear and missile issue on the basis of robust Korea-US cooperation. In particular, we were able to reaffirm our shared view that a missile launch would constitute a violation of UN Security Council resolution 1718, whatever the actual nature of the launch.
 
In addition, we agreed to work together to promptly bring an end to the 2nd phase of a complete and verifiable denuclearization process and move on to the third phase. 

North Korea's denunciation of joint Korea-US military exercises and its cutting off of military communication between the South and North are regrettable. North Korea should honor the spirit of mutual respect as agreed to between the South and North, and immediately halt its invective and acts of escalation.

Pyongyang needs to cease its provocative actions such as limiting access to and from the Gaseung Industrial park, launching missiles, vilifying and threatening the South. It also needs to return to the dialogue table with the South as soon as possible.

As for inter-Korean dialogue, in his March 1st Independence Movement Day speech, President Lee stated that South Korea respects inter-Korean agreements and offered to engage in talks without preconditions. A resumption of inter-Korean dialogue would allow us to discuss the full array of issues including the easing of tensions, economic cooperation, and humanitarian assistance.

Even as we work to strengthen relations with our neighbors, we intend to further expand cooperation with other regions.

We will be unremitting in our efforts to work with the EU in spreading the universal values of human rights and democracy, and we will continue to co-sponsor UN human rights resolutions to help improve conditions in North Korea. We will also strengthen our outreach to Europe by seeking entry into the Council of Europe as an observer this year.

In aspiring to a stature befitting a mature global actor and to raise our actual contributions to the international community, my government intends to join the OECD Development Assistance Committee and expand the size of our ODA and our participation in UN peacekeeping activities.

Moreover, my government announced the East Asia Climate Partnership last year, and we plan to raise 200 million dollars over a five year period, in order to prepare strategies to cope with climate change in East Asia and to assist developing country efforts to reduce greenhouse gas.
 
Seoul will also work actively with our European partners to bring about the conclusion of a global agreement at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December, and to successfully inaugurate a post-2012 climate change regime.

Ever since the establishment of ties in 1963, Korea and the European Union have steadfastly developed a relationship undergirded by democracy and the market economy.

In important ways, 2009 will be a meaningful milestone along the path to taking our political and economic relationship to a higher level.

We must work to open a new chapter in our relationship for the 21st century by concluding the Korea-EU FTA as soon as possible and through a forward-looking revision of the Korea-EU Framework Agreement for Trade and Cooperation, within the span of this year. 

The Korea-EU FTA, which is being negotiated, will redound significantly to the interests of both sides. It is our hope that both sides will successfully conclude negotiations through the 8th round of negotiations in Seoul later this month.
 
Along with a conclusion to the FTA, I hope that by revising the Korea-EU Framework Agreement, we will be able to place our cooperative relationship on a more equitable and future-oriented footing.

Europe will be hosting the G20 London summit and the outreach session of the G8 this year, and President Lee plans to visit the region on these occasions.

In particular, if a Korea-EU summit meeting is agreed to be held on the margins of the G8 outreach session in July, the meeting will no doubt serve as an opportune occasion to announce what I hope would be a successful conclusion to the FTA negotiations and a revision of the Framework Agreement.

On a final note, I wish to express my best wishes for the Lisbon Treaty's successful ratification and that further integration will follow in its wake. I also hope that as like-minded partners espousing the vision of human rights and democracy, Korea and the EU will continue to work together to serve peace and
prosperity around the world.