South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said Tuesday that the top priority in his security policy is to prevent a war on the Korean Peninsula by continuing to engage North Korea.
In his special New Year address broadcast live across the nation, the president said he will not give up pursuing a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as part of the policy of engagement with the North.
Roh said his administration will break from the traditional diplomatic framework of inter-Korean relations and the South Korea-U.S. alliance to pursue a so-called "balanced diplomacy," with the changing Sino-Japanese relations and the Northeast Asian order in mind.
He then reiterated that his government will gradually change the character of South Korea's relationship with the U.S. from one-sided dependence to interdependence.
"The focus of my government's North Korea policy will be on peace and security on the Korean Peninsula as well as the prevention of a war. Unification will come next," the president said in the hour-long speech.
"The key to the peace strategy is the wisdom of co-existence.
We should boldly and confidently engage North Korea. Confrontation would achieve nothing," Roh said, stressing the continued confidence-building measures between the two Koreas.
The president then stressed self-reliance in security.
"My government agreed to a gradual reduction of U.S. forces in Korea, the relocation of front-line U.S. troops south of Seoul and the takeover of wartime control of Korean troops from Washington in a bid to gradually lessen its dependence on the U.S.," he said.
"We have a vision for a multilateral security framework in Northeast Asia. We'll gradually pursue balanced diplomacy and self-defense."
Referring to media speculation on his meeting with North Korean leader Kim, the president said the inter-Korean summit would be possible only after some visible conclusion is reached at the six-nation talks aimed at terminating North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
"It has already been proven that an inter-Korean summit is not beneficial to any specific political force in South Korea. It should not be the target of political wrangling."
Roh presented comprehensive national strategies to lift South Korea's per capita annual income to US$30,000 in the coming years.
To help the nation reach the $30,000 income goal, the president stressed democracy, market economy, renovation, active opening, balanced regional development, social investments and peace in Northeast Asia. South Korea's per capita gross domestic product is projected to reach $20,000 this year, 12 years after it entered the era of $10,000 per capita income in 1995.
"With a per capita income of $20,000, South Korea can be called an advanced country. But in terms of welfare finances, law observance and social cohesion, we lag far behind the other advanced countries," Roh said.
"South Korea's employment-related budget currently stands at one-tenth of that of North European countries. We aim to raise the level to the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) average by 2030."
Worse yet, the nation is confronted with a number of factors of instability, such as social polarization, a low birth rate, an aging society, the inter-Korean confrontation and an unstable order in Northeast Asia, he said.
Regarding efforts for market opening, the president disclosed that Seoul will open talks with the European Union in March to seal a free trade agreement (FTA) and launch a joint study with Beijing on the feasibility of a bilateral FTA. He expressed his hopes for the ongoing FTA talks with the U.S., the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Canada.
The president also vowed to accelerate efforts to ease social polarization, improve the public livelihood, create a business-friendly environment, enforce free market principles, stimulate consumption and investments, improve labor-management relations, secure stable energy supply sources and stabilize real estate prices.
Roh explained strategies to reinforce the nation's growth potential, make the government sector more efficient and resolve problems in the real estate, education and labor sectors.
Notably, Roh stressed that the national development strategies are closely related to his proposal for a constitutional revision to change the nation's presidential tenure to the U.S. model.
But he ruled out the possibility of the nation falling back into a financial crisis.
"There are some concerns that the unfavorable foreign exchange rates and growing household debts could trigger a fresh financial crisis. But such a crisis will not occur, as the government has been thoroughly keeping the real estate and financial sectors in check in accordance with crisis management manuals," he said.
Seoul, Jan. 23 (Yonhap News)
Roh says his North Korea policy focused on prevention of war |
