President Park Geun-hye talks with U.S. President Barack Obama during their summit at the White House in Washington on Oct. 16.(Photos on the courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae)

Korean President Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama adopted a separate joint statement on North Korea, warning the communist regime of consequences following their summit at the White House in Washington on Oct. 16. It is the first time the two alliances adopted the statement handling only the North Korean issue. 

The statement said: “We will intensify high-level strategic consultations to create a favorable environment for the peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula.” A Cheong Wa Dae official said it means the two countries will create a minister- or vice minister-level new dialogue channel addressing the unification of the Korean Peninsula. “The United States appreciates President Park’s tireless efforts to improve inter-Korean relations, including repeated overtures to North Korea, and welcomes President Park’s principled approach that resulted in a peaceful resolution of the August tensions. The United States will continue to strongly support her vision of peacefully unified Korean Peninsula, as envisaged in her Dresden address.” 

The Korean and American leaders agreed to flesh out efforts to denuclearize North Korea, including the resumption of a Six-Party Talks on North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. “The Republic of Korea and the United States share deep concern about the continued advancement of North Korea’s UN-prosecribed nuclear and missile capabilities and agree to address the North Korean nuclear problem with utmost urgency and determination,” according to the statement. 

The statement continued: “We reaffirm our commitment to our common goal, shared by the international community, to achieve the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea in a peaceful manner. North Korea’s continuing development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in an ongoing violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions and is contrary to North Korea’s commitment under the 2005 Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks.” 

President Park also discussed views on the conditions necessary for the resumption of talks on denuclearization of North Korea during last year’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

President Park and President Obama agreed that the two countries stand ready to offer a brighter future to North Korea if the country demonstrates a genuine willingness to completely abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and agreed to abide by its international obligations and commitments.

The two countries agreed to remain dedicated to working with the international community to improve the human rights situation in North Korea and ensure accountability for human rights violations, as well as to improve the livelihood of the people in North Korea.

Meanwhile, the Korean president hinted at a summit with Abe in November when the leaders of Korea and Japan and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang come together in Seoul for talks. She gave the hint during a question and answer session after her speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Oct. 16. 

The President Meets with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden

President Park Geun-hye had a luncheon meeting hosted by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden at his residence at the Naval Observatory on Oct. 16. It was the first time the U.S. Vice President invited an Asian head of state to his residence.

During the gathering, President Park and Vice President Biden reviewed the current status of relations between the two countries and discussed how to enhance cooperation on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia and beyond. They reaffirmed the staunchness of the alliance between the two nations and exchanged ideas on new frontiers of bilateral cooperation. In consideration of recent developments surrounding the Korean Peninsula, they engaged in discussions on how to work together for the North`s denuclearization and the prevention of provocations. On top of this, they also exchanged views in relation to promoting peace and stability in Northeast Asia and how to cooperate in dealing with global challenges in need of contributions from the ROK-U.S. alliance. 

Korean President Visits the Pentagon

President Park sat together with Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and other high-ranking U.S. officials and exchanged ideas on various issues, including North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons and missiles, the implementation of a conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control and cooperation between the two nations in cyber security and space.

After the meeting, President Park took part in a “rope line meeting,” in which a president greets a group of soldiers one by one, at a corridor near Secretary of Defense Carter’s conference room. There, the president delivered words of encouragement to 31 American military personnel who either used to be stationed in Korea or will be in the future and five Korean officers who are studying in or dispatched to the United States. Also at the Pentagon, President Park attended a full military honors parade to welcome her, and met with and held a meeting with Korean and U.S. troops. It was the first time a full honors parade was held for a Korean president at the Pentagon. 

President Park participates in the 27th Plenary Meeting of the U.S.-Korea Business Council, co-hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 16.

The President Attends U.S.-Korea Business Council Meeting

President Park attended the 27th Plenary Meeting of the U.S.-Korea Business Council, co-hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 16. In her address, President Park noted that progress made thus far in cooperative relations between the businesses of the two countries and outlined directions for expanding trade and investment and working together on the creative economy initiative. The meeting was attended by some 100 business leaders from both countries, including Chairman of the Korea-U.S. Business Council Cho Yangho and Executive Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Myron Brilliant.

Chairman Cho said in his briefing that businesses of the two nations shared an understanding of the following points and reached an agreement to work actively together: 1) the KORUS FTA over the past three years has contributed to boosting trade and investment between the two countries and creating jobs; 2) the recently signed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would become an opportunity to deepen bilateral economic cooperation if Korea joined it; and 3) it is necessary to expand cooperation on various issues of interest such as the Internet of Things, response to population aging and labor reform. 

President Park said that the ongoing Manufacturing Industry Innovation 3.0 Strategy in Korea was designed to fuse traditional industries and ICT and expressed the hope that there would be much cooperation between the two countries in these areas. 

President Park said that bilateral economic cooperation had been expanding rapidly due to the KORUS FTA and stressed that communication channels like the Business Council were very important to discuss various problems between companies from Korea and the United States and to find cooperative solutions. The President also said if businesses made suggestions to solve related problems, the Korean government would actively provide necessary assistance by reflecting the suggestions in its policies. In particular, President Park expressed a high regard for the role of businesses in general, saying they are attracting much public attention, because, through future-oriented investment, businesses create decent jobs, improve the quality of life, develop technologies needed in dealing with climate change and overcoming disasters and introduce them to the world. 

The President Attends Korean-American Friendship Night

President Park Geun-hye attended the Korean-American Friendship Night held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington D.C. on Oct. 14. 

The gala event was attended by some 600 people, including senior U.S. administrative and congressional leaders who have worked hard to enhance the friendship between Korea and the United States, American opinion leaders from think tanks, academia and journalism, Korean War veterans, members of the Peace Corps, representatives of local Korean communities and the descendants of Korean independence activists.

In her remarks, President Park noted how much the Korea-U.S. alliance had contributed to Korea’s achieving economic growth and becoming a successful model, spelling out a vision for many developing countries around the world. She also stressed that the alliance would evolve dynamically into the future on the foundation of its long history and shared values and ideals, with local Korean communities, serving as a reliable bridge between the two countries.

The President Visits NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

President Park Geun-hye made a visit to the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland in the afternoon of Oct. 14. This is the second visit to a the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) space center by a Korean president in 50 years; former President Park Chung-hee made a visit to the Kennedy Space Center in 1965. The visit this time is in line with the two nations’ intentions to pursue space cooperation as a new frontier of the ROK-U.S. alliance.

After being briefed on Korea-U.S. cooperation on lunar exploration, space communications and satellite development from researchers who are taking part in the joint space projects, President Park asked for wider collaboration on space development between the two countries.