1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se delivered a keynote speech at the International Conference on “New Strategic Thinking: Planning for Korean Foreign Policy,” co-hosted by the Foreign Ministry and East Asia Institute (EAI) on April 29. In his speech, he introduced the Park Geun-hye government’s vision, “happiness of the Korean people, on the Korean Peninsula, and throughout the global community,” and explained “trustpolitik” to realize the vision with a focus on the following.

o The Park Geun-hye government’s vision for “a happier Korean people” is based on Korea’s experience in achieving industrialization and democratization during the turbulent era of the last half-century. The vision derives from the reflection that the benefits of remarkable economic growth and national achievements have not sufficiently translated into the happiness of each and every citizen.

- In sum, the vision represents a shift in thinking to turn to a “people-oriented, citizen-oriented” philosophy. It aims to pursue common prosperity of the Korean Peninsula and the global village by transcending the happiness of our people.

o To realize the vision, the Park Geun-hye government presented “trustpolitik” as a basis for its foreign policy to firmly maintain peace and proactively create peace. The trust-building process on the Korean Peninsula and the Northeast Asian Cooperation Initiative aim to build sustainable peace and cooperation on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia through “trustpolitik.”

o The trust-building process on the Korean Peninsula is an initiative to normalize inter-Korean relations by building mutual trust based on solid security, establish sustainable peace and ultimately open a new era of unification where every citizen on the Korean Peninsula is happy.

- To this end, it is most important that North Korea makes the right choice for itself, but it is also important for the international community to create conditions where North Korea has no other choice but to change.

- The trust-building process, which is based on strong deterrence, is a policy “to be applied in a tough way when it should be so, and also in a flexible way when it should be so.”

- The latest decision to bring all workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex back home was made to follow the new government’s principle that it should fulfill its basic responsibility to protect the safety of the people. Despite this, the door for dialogue with North Korea remains open.

- Through the trust-building process on the Korean Peninsula, the Park Geun-hye government will continue to both press and persuade North Korea to change. The government will also deliver a consistent and determined message to North Korea along with the international community by keeping strengthened strategic dialogues with the US, China and other major countries.

- However, if North Korea does not make the right decision and sticks to its out-of-date playbook, North Korea’s isolation will further deepen and its groundless hope of achieving a nuclear-state status and economic growth at the same time will end up as an empty dream.

o In addition, the Park Geun-hye government’s Northeast Asian Peace and Cooperation Initiative aims to turn mistrust and confrontation in Northeast Asia into trust and cooperation. The progress on the Initiative will help open a new era of reconciliation and common prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, and contribute to resolving the North Korean nuclear issue in a wider framework.

- Mistrust among countries in Northeast Asia is growing over historical and other issues, and there is concern over a possible military conflict arising from territorial disputes. Anachronistic remarks and behaviors by some leaders of a country in the region are rapidly worsening the conditions for intra-regional cooperation. Indeed, we are witnessing multiple and simultaneous emergence of issues of latent conflict in the region.

2. The Foreign Ministry co-hosted the conference on “New Strategic Thinking: Planning for Korean Foreign Policy” for the first time based on the recognition that diplomacy needs to break away from conventional ideas and adopt strategic thinking. It brought together domestic and foreign academics in foreign policy, and experts in diplomatic strategy and policy planning from around the world, including the US, the UK, Japan and Turkey.

o The participants discussed in depth the exemplary cases of creative strategic planning in different countries in the 21st century. They also made suggestions on ways to enhance the Foreign Ministry’s capability for policy planning, and discussed the directions for the ROK’s foreign policies concerning the Korean Peninsula, Northeast Asia and the world based on strategic thinking.

3. The participants also explored strategies to implement the Park Geun-hye government’s trustpolitik and presented a wide range of views on opportunities offered by the trust-building process on the Korean Peninsula. The conference served as a new mechanism to raise awareness of the ROK’s foreign policies at home and abroad and collect opinions of experts from other countries by establishing the policy network where domestic and foreign policymakers and academics participate together.

* unofficial translation





1. On the afternoon of April 29, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with Steve Chabot, Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and Pacific, and Eni Faleomavaega, Ranking member of the Subcommittee. Minister Yun started by welcoming the US House Foreign Affairs Asia and Pacific Subcommittee leaders who directly deal with Korean Peninsula affairs. Their visit to the country marked the first of its kind since the start of the US Congressional session for this year.

2. At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Yun mentioned that he had just come back from Korea’s National Assembly session, during which a resolution related to Japan’s history distortion was passed reflecting the unanimous opinion of the National Assembly on the issue. He offered the House Subcommittee leaders copies of the resolution. Minister Yun then requested that as leaders of the Subcommittee who handle an extensive range of Asia-Pacific matters, they pay keen attention to the issue, which has been brought into renewed light as one of the key Northeast Asian issues.

○ Chairman Chabot mentioned that the ROK, along with Japan, is an important ally and a core partner of the US in addressing regional security issues, adding that the current situation is helpful to none of the countries concerned. Meanwhile, Ranking member Faleomavaega stressed that Japan should squarely face its past as Germany did so as not to repeat the same mistakes.

○ Minister Yun extended his appreciation to Representative Faleomavaega for leading the adoption of the resolution on military sexual slavery during his term as Chairman of the Subcommittee. The Minister asked him to continue playing a leading role in addressing issues related to the universal values of humanity.

3. Minister Yun spoke about the recent series of provocations and threats by North Korea, including the suspended operation of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, and subsequently elaborated on the ROK government’s responses and their background. The two Congressmen commented that they are deeply impressed with the ROK government’s calm and stern responses under such circumstances.

○ Minister Yun brought attention to the need to closely watch North Korea’s future moves regarding the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. He added that the ROK and the US will firmly deal with the situation, while maintaining their resolute deterrence against North Korea based on their combined defense capability.

4. Chairman Chabot mentioned that he had been briefed on the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the combined defense posture by the Commander of the US Forces Korea earlier in the day. He added that the US administration and Congress firmly support the ROK-US alliance. He also conveyed the US Congress’ anticipation to hear from Park Geun-hye, the first female President in Northeast Asia about her vision for the ROK-US alliance at its Joint Meeting.

5. Minister Yun commended the efforts by the House leadership to make a success of President Park’s visit to Congress. He expressed his expectation that President Park will deliver a very clear message regarding the achievements and the future vision of the ROK-US alliance. He requested that the US Congress make every necessary preparation and render support to make President Park’s message delivered seamlessly.

6. In his final remarks, Minister Yun noted that the ROK-US alliance has been developing into a strategic alliance whose scope includes not only matters concerning the Korean Peninsula but also regional and global issues. He stressed that such advances should be brought closer to the peoples of the two countries. In this light, he requested that the House leadership take an interest in and work on having Congress pass a bill to allocate professional visas for Korean nationals. The two Congressmen responded positively to the request.

* unofficial translation