President Roh Pursues Moderate Summit Goals

“I do not plan to be overly ambitious in the inter-Korean summit,” said President Roh Moo-hyun in an address commemorating the 62nd Anniversary of the National Liberation of Korea. “I would rather not try to make a new historic turning point with this meeting.”

President Roh used this special speech on August 15, 2007, to show his readiness for the upcoming summit. “I will only try my best to materialize what has already transpired historically as mentioned just now,” said the President, adding that the summit would be in tune with the Six-Party Talks and would proceed in a way of speeding up the success of the multilateral talks.

“I will make careful judgments of the historical mission conferred on me. I will not try to accomplish something for the sake of doing so. Instead, I will do all I can to fulfill my obligation,“ said Mr. Roh, adding that he and his counterpart, Kim Jong Il, agreed to hold talks for the future not for a fight.

President Roh placed particular emphasis on the need for building an inter-Korean economic community. “From now on, the two sides need to develop inter-Korean economic cooperation into productive investment collaboration and into two-way cooperation,” he said. “In this way the South will have more investment opportunities, while the North will have a chance to make an economic turnaround.”

His comments indicated that the Roh administration would focus more efforts on strengthening economic cooperation than on discussing sensitive political issues including North Korea’s denuclearization.

The president placed great significance on the summit, saying that it was the first in seven years and would help to normalize the South-North relations that have been strained by the North’s nuclear ambition. “The summit will contribute to further solidifying peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula while advancing common South-North prosperity. The meeting is also expected to help the Six-Party Talks make progress, while facilitating development of multilateral ties that should ensue in the future in Northeast Asia,” said the president.

He enumerated four major South-North agreements: the July 4, 1972 Joint Communiqué; the 1992 South-North Basic Agreement; the 1992 Joint Declaration of the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula; and the June 15, 2000 South-North Joint Declaration. After looking back on the development of the agreement, he stressed, “Now is the time for the parties concerned to strive to put the agreements into practice. By respecting the agreements and taking a faithful stance to carry them out, the two sides will be able to develop their relationship into one that is predictable and trustworthy.”

In the address to the people, the president made an earnest request to the people for full support. “I hope you will not burden me by saying, ‘Don’t do this or don’t do that.’ I hope you won’t tell me, ‘Get this without fail.’ I earnestly hope that the nation will gather creative, collective wisdom within a big framework for a brighter future.”

jin0619@donga.com