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>> to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the u.s. south korea mutual defense treaty ambassadors from both nations made remarks at the brookings institution. during the event. this shared thoughts on the alliance amid north korea's continued development of nuclear weapons and geopolitics in the surrounding region. >> on policy the brookings institution i'm delighted to welcome you and established yest to our program today on the u.s. south korea alliance. today's event marks to important milestones. the first is the 70th anniversary of the u.s. southth korea alliance. since its inception, via neutral defense treaty of 1953, the

alliance expanded from primarily defensive one to a wide-ranging partnership built on ensuring economic security and global cooperation rules -based order. amid great power competition in the indo pacific threat of north korea's nuclear ambitions, the alliance transformed into company has a strategicic partnership positioned to address global challenges including emerging technologies, supply chain resilience, climate lichange, cybersecurity, sustaining and expanding democratic institutions and values muchdeut more. we are honored to have participants from both sides of the alliance who will be with us today to offer their perspectives on the past, present and future of the alliance. we are grateful the embassy of the republic is able to join us this afternoon to offer initial

opening remarks. we will hear brief framing remarks about the alliance from the united states ambassadors republic of korea holberg who pre-recordedhi contributions on the issue in recognition of the time difference between seoul and washington. the second milestone i am pleased to highlight today is the 2023 marks the tenth year of the establishment of the korea foundation, korean studies at brookings. we are thrilled to welcome back to brookings the two talented scholars who were our first two korea chairs. visiting professor of government at harvard university and political g science, here and or audience as welll as john who serves as deputy assistant secretary of state and bureau of east asian pacific affairs. ...

prior to thehe april 26 summit the twin u.s. president joe biden and south korean president. a quick reminder where live and streaming on the record that will preserve the last few moments of our t event for questions from the audience. microphones will be passed around the roomse for those here in person the wish to participate in the conversation, and for those are watching virtually you can submit questions by e-mail at events at brookings.edu or twitter hashtag u.s.-rok alliance. another quick note at the conclusion of the that i'll ask all those were here with us in person to remain in your seats so the participants can leave the states seamlessly. at the time i like to produce choon-goo kim to the podium for his remarks. thank you.

[applause] >> hello, everybody. i am choon-goo kim. embassy at the embassy seven korea washington. and tell years ago whenever we start to speak we start with aloha. here in washington i have to say good afternoon to you, everybody. well, thank you to the brookings institution and distinguished guest. it is my pleasure to join you today as we celebrate the 17th anniversary of the alliance and the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the brookings

institutes korea chair. i'm delighted to be joined by so many former occupants of this distinguished post including catherine moon,ng professor emeritus at wesley college, and my colleague, the deputy special representative for dprk. i would also like to recognize the current chair for making this event possible, thank you. established in 2014, the brookings career chair has been invaluable in promoting a greater understanding of our bilateral relationship. so to begin, i want to thank you all for your great work in strengthening our alliance and promoting mutualli trust. the friendship between korea and

the united states goes back when hundred 40 plus years, , but ths year marks the 70th anniversary of our former alliance. we have been allies half of the time of our friendship, forged in blood our alliance has been the foundation of our current prosperity. in the face of the evolving threat posed by north korea, our alliance stands firm always demonstrating strength and resolve. what began as a military alliancere has expanded to also become an economy alliance, particularly given -- fta. over the past decade, the fda has produced incalculable opportunities for our economic partnership and brought us forth

unfold benefits. this close partnership is supported by perhaps most important of all, people to people exchanges. a recent survey, nearly eight out of ten koreans chose the united states as the country they felt closest to. korea pop culture is on the rise in america. many american -- game, music and dance and even korean food. while this also includes -- the famous girl rock. given the strong bond of our two countries and with our commitment to advance our shared values of freedom, human rights and democracy, we have successfully overcome the

challenges of our times amid growing uncertainty in the international environment. distinguished guests, today's event is particularly meaningful as weng are only days away from president yeol state visit which marks historic milestone in olympic we live in an era of rapid innovation in areas like artificial intelligence and korean energy technology. we also face many transnational challenges including climate change, and food insecurity. and global uncertainty is growing because of russia invasion of ukraine, and the more sophisticated nuclear and missile threats from north korea. to meet these challenges together, our alliance must be

expanded and advanced. to become a global comprehensive strategy alliance. the economic summit with the theme of alliance towards the future will showcase the ever -- nature of the alliance, and give us the chance to upgrade our land evenup further. we will reaffirm our commitment shared values. we will -- transition and look for ways to ensure global security ando prosperity for the next 70 years and beyond. in response to north korea's threats, we will enhance and strengthen our extended deterrence as well as reaffirm our shared goal of denuclearization of north korea.

in the economic front we will see new growth to enemies -- i'm sorry, engines, exploring opportunities inex areas like cutting edge technology, space, and biotech. and will also work on how to extend our already strong people to people exchange. distinguished guests, before i close i would like to mention how important fora like this have been over thehe years, and how appreciated that are at every level. they have helped our governments better align ourel policies. so i look forward to hearing today's discussions, and hope they will getnd some real insigs as we prepare for the upcoming summit. thank you so much. [applause]

>> hello from seoul. thanks for thetu opportunity to address this distinguished group of participants and speakers today. i wish i could be there in person, but as you know with a very important state visit come up at the end of april when president yeol will be hosted by president biden at the white house and a lot of preparation to be done. on today's theme, reinvigorating the u.s.-rok alliance at 70, the energy and enthusiasm for theus u.s.-rok alliance remains as high as ever and the number of senior level u.s. visitors to korea reflects this. that's one ofs. the reasons also that i can't be in washington, and now we are very busy preparing and receiving visitors here in seoul. as a mouse of your one of roles is to nurture and further develop the comprehensive and

strategic partnership and to increasinglyen oriented our cooperation for the future with a focus on broader regional and global issues. it's been invigorating and satisfying to help our bilateral relationship reach newil height. this october we will celebrate the 70thhe anniversary of the mutual defense defense n the united states and the republice of korea which has provided a solid foundation for theis people in korea to florist in the years following the korean war. on that foundation built an entire network of political economic security and social ties future generations enjoy the opportunity that they do. i anticipate the people to people ties will be highlighted in the state visit to washington in just a couple of weeks.

to highlight the strength of the ironclad alliance in the united states unwavering commitment to this country. the presidents will discuss the shared resolve to deepen and broaden the political economic security and people to people ties. the presidents will also discuss specific measures to strengthen the economic security furthering of the advances made since the summit last may to deepen and broaden the cooperation on critical and emerging emerging technologiesthrough thn economic security dialogue. we have made great progress working together to diversify the supply chains for both essential goods and the materials needed to make them. ..

ambitious and a pacific strategy. which called to strengthen solidarity with like-minded partners and to promote shared values such as democracy, human rights and free economies. we fully support the rok in expanding its global role in fulfilling its aspirations as a global pivotal state. which led to their own commitment southeast asia and the pacific island countries. then energy, security into security and high including in infrastructure. during recent summits we have reaffirm our support for peace and stability in the taiwan strait as this is essential for security and cooperation in the region. we think the rok for his humanitarian assistance and commitment to the reconstruction

of ukraine. we also discussed are ways to help ukraine as russia has continued its brutal invasion for more than a year. we welcome president yeol's bold action to improve bilateral redactions with japan to geographically closest like-minded c partner. president you took up critical step in strengthening our trilateral cooperation. the rok is also taking on an increasing leadershipal role asa champion of democracy in the region and globally come demonstrate last month when a cohost along with the united states summit for democracy and as a takes on the role of sole host next year. it's an y exciting time in the u.s.-rok bilateral relationship depth and breadth of our relationship is astounding as we confront a host of global threatsat the united states and the rok will only deepen our ties and strengthenur our resol. as i said at outset this bilaterall relationship is

already dynamic and full of energy and certainly keeps me going every day. i congratulate the brookings institution on its tenth anniversary establishment of the korea chair. your contributions in supporting the alliance andnd elevating the level of discourse on critical issues in u.s. foreign policies invaluable. i'm sure you have continued success because we are going to continue improving this relationship. thank you again for the opportunity to address this impressive group of participants today. thanks very much.

>> good afternoon, everyone. at such a pleasure for me to moderate this afternoons conversation. it is of course an important year. where marking the 70th anniversary of the u.s.-rok alliance and also for brookings it's a very special time as it also celebrating the tenth year anniversary of the korea foundation chair. it's timely because we are expecting president yoon to come for state visit at the end of the month come so clearly this is important location and the timing could not be better. but i would also like to highlight we are really in for quite ali treat because we had some of the best experts on u.s.-south korea relations here at the stage. they happen to be former colleagues or current colleagues, so for me it's a specialea pleasure. i know they've been introduced by the what to do a little bit more about their biography because i think when he do that use are accomplished they are each individual but also when you see them here together on

the stage you begin to see the range and the depth of expertise we have been so fortunate here at brookings to have had when it comes to korea studies. let me start with kathy moon who was in our culture and now currently she's visiting professor at harvard professor emeritus at wellesley college. kathy is of course very well-established academic was written really remarkable work looking at the influence of korea's democratic utilization of the u.s.-rok alliance and impact of american bases in local communities. and her current book project is a north korean narratives and believe kathy is an interviews with north korean diaspora. next to her in the center is jung pak who is deputy assistant secretary for multilateral affairs and deputy special representative for the democratic people's republic of korea.a. of course prior to being a state

she was a dear colleague of ours here at brookings and during her time she wrote what a a thinks probably one of our best sellers, becoming kim jong-un. before that the member very well the essay that you wrote that became really everybody was paying attention because insights were really extraordinary. b and, of course, she has distinct grid intelligence community boat at the cia and that's national intelligence council. and next to me his current holder of the chair and is also professor at catholic university. andrew the way i would describe it in addition being what difficulty is in such a broad range of interests. just tell you about some of the issues he has been working on recently. for example, a recent book on this date in markets in north korea. he's also doing a lot of work on south korea's indo-pacific strategy.ra is published a book in the past,

emerging security architecture here he has a recent project on great powermp competition and overseas basing, and currently i think i'm just dash and is getting start on a project grand strategy narratives. so you'll begin to see ben from how many different areas we can begin to talk about the alliance between the united states and the republic of korea. now, now that of introduce you would like to give you the floor and probablyy start with kathy and if we can go then coming towards me. i would like to ask you to start with some opening remarks and offer if it can ask reflection r where you see the u.s.-south korea relationship today. how would you describe where we're at, how we got here, what are the opportunities, the challenges? wherever you want to take up this would be a good way to frame the discussion that will follow. so kathy please go ahead. >> thanks veryy much, mireya.

it is wonderful to be back. brookings is very much a family in the best sense, that you can always come back and be welcomed so warmly. i amme very grateful to andrew r this panel, and for the brookings staff who make it possible. also thanks of course i'm sure all of you would agree to ask kate and korea foundation for having endowed the korea chair back about ten years ago. i begin my post here at brookings in 2014 when barack obama was president, remember way back then? and the so-called strategic patience approach to north korea was in play. in south korea -- was president and he was pursuing a new approach to north korea called trust politic. korean society. its view of the unification from

a negative one to a positive one some of you may remember that term unification bonanza. i think many have forgotten this already and it hasn't been that long. back then in 2014 when i started, kim jong-un was a newcomer to the world stage. and what always getting to know him as he assumed the primary leadership role after three years of official mourning for his father who had died in 2011. many had wandered back then if the young and inexperienced air had the skills and drive to maintain and wield power. i would never the fall of 2014 when he had been absent from public view for nearly 40 days, the global media and many korea watchers wondered if he was ill,

if he had died, if there had been a coup to remove him. that is to say that his hold on power seemed precarious at that time. today, about ten years later, mr. obama and ms. pok are no longer in office but mr. jim is very much a, and he has been firmly ensconced, as you all know. and i have to say, sadly, that his regime, although not as people, have thrived in terms of nuclear capabilities and delivery vehicles here in 2013 there had been eight months from north korea of short-range missiles. compare that with 2022, less than ten than ten years, with over 90 missiles of varied types and much more sophistication. we know that there was a launch just yesterday for us, i guess today foror korea.

also the regime has thrived in terms of cyber attacks. i remember back in 2014, the world have been surprised by the norse ability to hack into sony pictures. do you remember that? some of you are nodding. sony pictures, because of the movie a north korean regime did not like that the americans had put out. at americans admit around the world were surprised come to the north koreans have the ability to do this?s? 2022 was not told a record-breaking year in terms of missile launches but also for stealing foreign assets to cyber attacks and attacking foreign aerospace and defense companies. the regime is also thrived in the last ten years in terms of getting away with human rights violations with much less international scrutiny. in 2014 you might recall that the dprk was under international scrutiny led by the united

nations with a highly critical commission to report about its human rights abuses, the general assemblyly had voted to condemn human rights abuses based on that report. even the security council, the u.n. security council decided to convene to address north korean humann rights abuses. in the last nine to ten years we have experienced democratic regression and explicit efforts to establish autocracies around the world. it is an environment friendlier you might say to north korean regime than what existed ten years ago. relations with moscow and with beijing today, these are countries as you know do not press for democracy or for human rights, their relationships are closer than they were ten years ago, north korean society is more closed today than it was

ten years ago, partly due to the pandemic shutdown of itsgo borders. things might be looking grim and i apologize for this unhappy account, but i have to also say that the u.s.-rok relationship is in better shape now than it was tenen years ago. although it is more challenging issues, including the fact that 70-80% of the korean public, depending on the survey, supports a nuclear weapons program for the korean society. and there are of course pressures for korea and the u.s. to join together ever more tightly engines of economic and technological alliances in addition to the security alliance. so i look forward to exchanging views about the evolving nature of the u.s.-korea relationship, and i now turn to my colleague and fellow chair and now das.

>> thank you kathy and thank you andrew thanks to brookings for hosting. it's always great going after kathy moon because that cuts off half of my remarks. because kathy is such a brilliant academic am somebody that i've admired for the decades.ast several kathy mentioned how things have changed over thehe past ten yeas but i think one thing that remainss. constant has been that the alliance, the u.s.-rok alliance has been the linchpin of peace, security and prosperity for northeast asia and the broader indo-pacific. i say that with a lot of confidence and i have numbers. so far we've seen two bilateral meetings between the leaders and

three, and two trilateral meetings among the leaders with rok, u.s. and japan. we've had multiple, the secretary has had many engagements with his rok and japan counterparts bilateral and trilateral. our deputy secretary has quarterly meetings and calls with their counterparts in korea and japan. and, of course, the special representative ambassador kim, special representative for the dprk ambassador kim is also near constant touch, as i am, with rok and japanese counterparts. so we've had a banner several years of coordination and cooperation, and i'm really proud to be working on the state visit of president yoon later this month. and so and also want to point out, i did some digging just what happened ten years ago as

you did, kathy. but what i back to was your inaugural speech. and in that inaugural speech when you took the chair here, you talked about globalizing democratizing butir you also talked about nextgen. one of the things i tried to carry on after you was next generation. i remember you said you didn't study korea because there were no korea studies and that you are actually a china expert and you study china. and that you saw this platform as a way to teach about korea. i think that's something that remains, it was a powerful message for those who came after you. i think the celebration of the lines and for the ten years of brookings chair i think is really the foundation of what you laid ten years ago. so thank you for that. i also mentioned that come you

mention the globalizing aspects ofsp it as a democratizing aspet of u.s.-rok relations and dprk. i think that's true now more than ever. ambassador goldberg, whom you saw just now, it's one of the hardestju working diplomats that i've ever seen andnd he's been very busy, not just with the state visit but also the steady drumbeat of visits and beatings we have had with the republic of korea in the past two years and this administration so we really happy about that. i've also mentioned in terms of globalizing, you know, in my bio i am the deputy assistant secretary for multi lateral affairs as well. that includes asean, , the association of southeast asian nations, as well as and all of the permutations that involved with asean as well as the mequon u.s. partnership. and in those capacities i see what we are doing with korea,

with the pacific island countries, what were working on to ensure the centrality of asean to the coincidence or the convergence of our respective indo-pacific strategies in which we are r both working to make se that the indo-pacific is free, resilient and secure and prosperous. and i'm really, i think on the people to people, my colleague from the rok embassy talked about that eight out of ten koreans prefer to study in the united states or prefer, they see the trend as their greatest friend. i will point out that since 1955 there have been 1.7 million koreans rested in the united states. it's just a testament to the

diplomacy and this relationship that didn't appear out of nowhere but that it took decades to build and it will take decades to continue to build. it's a process rather than a a destination. so i'm really down and and privilege to be working towards that at the state department. couple of words onst dprk. kathy has already mentioned the cyber piece and human rights peace and those were the two things i i was going to highlt as well. i think we saw this evolution of the cyber threat from t the dprk coming. remember 2013 before the sony hack, the rok banks and tv stations were hacked and then the sony hack it came in 2014. i was working in the intelligence community at the time. so we've seen that evolution to the extent, and we and the u.s. government were working hard at

combating these malign cyber activities by the dprk, and as you may know i cohost the u.s.-rok cyber working group to counter these efforts. second is the human rights. not much has changed and one could argue it has gotten worse because of the covid lockdown and the puckering up of the dprk during the covid pandemic, and will continue to focus on that. the administration has been very much focused onis keeping human rights at the center of our policies. just finally, the challenges are great. what we've seen in the past three years is where whent talking about military issues anymore. the issues are, the challenges are a gray zone. our challenges are in real nuclear proliferation threats to our challengesha are posed by

things transnational issues such as the climate crisis, which i know from the asean context it affects asean southeast asia deeply. the energy security issues and food security issues have been exacerbated by russia's brutal invasion of ukraine, as well as the strategic relationship that it's been building between the prc and russia. challenges, we are extremely grateful, and we have much to do ahead between the u.s. and rok as well as our other allies and partners in the region. so with that let me stop there. thanks. >> well, thanks so much, and as the current foundation shareholder i'm extremely extreo share the stage with predecessorsrs both kathy and jung. kathy i also member when you

hear at the inaugural launching of the korea chair position and was actually sitting on the right side. it was so vivid, as emotional as well i remember. as an admirer of your work and as a friend, i was so proud of that moment and w so it's really humbling to be back here with you. and also with jung i know i come to brookings ah few times. there was a private roundtable you invited me to, transatlantic pacific appliances which was great, a private roundtable. we had closed-door discussion and then there was a public event. i also sat on the right side. i think that's my spot now when i'm not on the right, back right side of this auditorium. i do want to say that after i became the chair i got contacted sinews to a was one more conference. we did complete that but all this to say a few very much connected, embedded to both of

you for what you're done and which of our reestablish your at brookings. certainly the point about fostering the next generation, that is inta my blood and i feel like, as a professor and as an academic it is something i am trying to do as well some glad we had that continuity. but on the topic for today of course we're talking about. the alliance. overall,ia the alliance, it on solid footing. the two governments have been in frequent communication and contacts through multiple channels and multiple levels of government as you point out. public opinion in united states and south korea and support for the u.s.-rok alliance they remain very a high. last fall the chicago council on global affairs released a survey and we saw a record high favorable attitudes towards south korea fromve americans. this has steadily climbed. conversely on the flipside, for

south korea 90% of koreans, this was from a pew survey, pew survey on global attitudes, 90% of koreans had favorable attitudes towards united states. so really the alliance is on solid solid footing so it's in great shape. that being said the course we have seen hiccups along the way. we have seen i think undercurrent of angst at times more on the south korea side. we had issue of inflation reduction act last fall, and although i think the two governments are working through some kind of path forward on inflation reduction act, that did lead to some questions from south korea about u.s. commitment to allies and partners, extended deterrence and nuclear reassurance that is come up as well. and i think when they come up the two sides do come together. they have this frank discussions and i think those issues are

being worked out, but it shows even though the bedrock of the lights is there and it's frank within this 1956 defense treaty. we do on occasion see issues coming up. so those are the points we have to watch for. i would say in terms of challenges there's many as jung mentioned. the some that seem to never go away. north korea is one of them. we only need to look at the headlines from n this morning ad north korea's icbm intercontinental ballistic missile test to be reminded of the north korean threat, and the problem has just not conaway and it is going to continue to post challenges. i also think economic security is a major issue and we will probably hear more about that in the run-up to the biden summit. question about what role south korea will or will not be able to play according to the united

states and other allies. and a a lot of this, a lot of te i think challenges come apart because of your south. korea relationship but because of uncertainty in larger global issues, whether this be u.s.-china competition or also the conflict that russia's invasion of ukraine and global conflicts elsewhere. this poses a challenges to the online so their playthings to talk about for the upcoming summit but overall think we're in a very good shape for the u.s.-rok alliance. thank you very much. that was fantastic from all of you. i will just have by saying that a waiver is sitting in and is chair in thehe back on the right to your future is bright. [laughing] but let me just pick up on what i think is a theme from all of your comments and that there's a fair amount of change but also continuity. i think that applies also to what is the perennial problem out there?

and that is north korea. that's a continuity. north korea continues to be a challenge to the alliance, a challenge for stability and peace for the region but also a change in the sense we see a major augmentation of the capabilities of the north korean regime, different front, , k cy, nuclear and missile. that is more and more concerning. just a day or two ago there was a launch that critic vic of arm in japan. so clearly this is front of mind. and, therefore, i am pressed to ask you what i think is the bigger question but a difficult one. i know during your time at brookings you all wrote extensively and continue to write extensively about north korea, but if i can ask you to analyze for us this problem andt can the alliance do? what can the international community do? and why we seem to be unable so far to have a more effective strategy vis-à-vis north korea?

so whoever wants to take it. >> i'll start. i wish i had a really crystal clear answer to your question. in some ways it's a way to ask what do the u.s. and south korea do wrong or incorrectly? and is there a correct route to try to give that north korea and the nuclear dilemma in particular? and i don't think there is one answer. there is no one correct route obviously. to a significant extent the covid era and the shutdown of north korea's of borders have made things even more difficult than they were prior to that period. i think it's worth considering boardmember north korea much more -- or remember north korea much more interaction with the outside world in 2012 2012,

2014, 15, might have imagined in kim jong illes time, the fathers time even. so under the new, , back then tn years ago kim jong-un was considered young and new. we expected some kind of change to come from the north korean regime that might give us its own, some signals that he and his regime would like to engage the outside world and i think to assist admit extent that were measures that were taken. just to give you an example the north have developed a tourist industry that appeal to i wanted to attract foreign tourists. that's a pretty surprising development back in 2012-2013, 14, 15, et cetera. obviously covid made that impossible given what the regime chose in terms of a lockdown. the other thing that's changed

significantly that makes to do with north korea even harder today is the geopolitical shifts, specifically russia and china. ten years ago we did not have a situation where we were beginning to see a certain kind of a skeletal outline of cold war 2.0 or something like that. i hope we hope we don't go there. but things are not good right now obviously, and the level of distrust not only between north korea and the u.s., north korea and south korea by the month north korea, russia, china, and then the u.s.-south korea-japan. these lies are getting drawn no one is trying to draw them deliberately. no one is goingre and crossing, and drawing a red line but we begin to see lines dating a drawn and makes for a much more

precarious uncertain environment in which to act. i think until north korea decides to open its borders, there usually isn't thatt much anyone can really do. until north korea decides to meet diplomats, until north korea decides that its business community wants to engage the again, until north koreaag is able to house and hot safely humanitarian aid workers who can provide the desperate help that they need in terms of the well-being of their citizens, there really isn't that much we could offer as incentives that we knows might work. so i think we might even have to start, maybe not completely over, once north korea is ready to open up but we'll have to be a lot more creative this time around. >> and thanks. if i could jump in. i think kathy is right.

over the course of the ten years that cam has been in power, ten plus years that kim jong-un has been in power, his weapon systems have become much more sophisticated and diverse and dangerous. and i think over the years i think there been lots of ways or lots of approaches that have been taken. one is of course that we continue to strengthen this is sanctions and mentation. there used to be much greater array of trading partners but also proliferation partners. it's because of sanctions and their implementation that those numbers have shrunk quite a bit. we saw in the previous administration that we saw a great deal of engagement.

at the end of the day only kim jong-un can decide to do what's best for his people, and it seems that he has decided what's best for his people and probably for himself may be is the pursuit of nuclear weapons. we have mentioned in this session about how the pandemic has probably exacerbated health conditions and living conditions there. that the border has been pretty shut tight, and aid workers have for the most part all left the country. so that is three years of children without vaccinations, people without the required vaccinations and the required aid. and so we would encourage the dprk to come to negotiations. the president on down word, we've all beenn very clear we

want dialogue without any preconditions, but it's not up to kim jong-un and the dprk to decide when and how they're going to open up their borders. i would also argue that there has been greater international consensus on this issue, and that beijing and moscow can absolutely do more on sanctions implementation and to press the dprk to come to the table. of course we will continue to evaluate our approach and take our steps for next steps in lockstep with korea and japan, as well as other like-minded partners and to try to encourage kim jong-un to come to dialogue. negotiation and dialogue is really the only way that were

going to resolve this issue, and we hope that the dprk opens up its borders soon. >> i would only add that in the past there may be issues with the alliance in terms of their approaches north korea. i'm thinking that the early 2000 between president george w. bush. he said the alliance ll coordinated but in some ways the ball really isn't north korea's court. because there been recalcitrant any kind of gestures, the issue hasn't gone forward. in some ways it is a problem with the alliance but it's not because there's some issue with u.s. coronation arduous south korea allies that this issue is not getting resolved. >> thank you. >> can i add something to it? >> kathy, you talked about lines. this is something that keeps getting deeper in terms of what we've seen from the dprk over the past couple of years is a a close alignment with russia and

china. you've seen these very odd statements coming out of pyongyang over the past couple of years supporting prc position, in effect parroting russian i and prc disinformation and their positions and whether it's on aukus or taiwan or send john or hong kong. these are things that dprk really did not care about but that's clearly, for me it's a signal that this is where they want to put their eggs. i think it's really important for the u.s. security council and for the international community to speak with one voice. iat will point to the pivot come famous payment from 2018 when kim came to talks as, in my mind that was a result of consensus and moscow and beijing and the united states and rok and japan and the international community all began one page on sanctions.

>> thank you. this is really important discussion, and i want to shift a little bit and talk about what i do think is a departure, and that is president yoon's pacific strategy, and broader strategic and of the strategy. i would like to ask your views on what is driving these initiatives, what role can the u.s. alliance play as south korea thinks about it in the pacific projection? but also how a south korea thinking about the china factor in all of this? >> i'll address that one first. he has come south korean governmentso released its indo-pacific strategy last december. there has been a shift in south korea's thinking terms of its foreign policy and the role it wants to play. set south korea's never nd thought about playing more of a global role even if you go as far back

as in 2009, the residual u.s.-rok joint vision statement where they talked about the alliance playing a role for the region and the world and the title issues be on the korean peninsula. this is an approach that the yoon kevin hassett on. i remember then candidate yoon writing that the alliance would be at the core of south korea's foreign policy strategy. i think he is reallyic stuck wih that position. but in terms s of how it's expanded, south korea also recognizes it can't be left behind as we see the security architecture evolving in the region. a lot of this has to do with u.s.-china competition but also the shift that china has taken, the direction of the chinese policy has taken a hard turn. and the past korea has been criticized. they weree oscillating with the terms, vacillating, hedging, they are trying, they want to be

a part of the u.s.-rok alliance but it's really unclear what the position is on china. i think they will always be some degree of ambiguity but i think this government, the yoon government made it much clearer and wants to be a part of this growing network, a network of alliances and partners that want to support the rules-based international order. to do that is not just about strengthening alliance tied to the united states but it is developing partnerships, relationships with other like-minded states, and that's whatns we're seeing the south korea government doing right now. >> if i could add that there's also the economic, sheer economic interest component, and the fact that the majority of south korea's trade takes place in that region, as well as its foreign investments. i agree with everything andrew

has said in terms of geopolitical pressure, especially emanating from china but there's also the economic national interests involved in terms of south korea focusing on areas closer to home. >> thank you. could ask you a little bit more about through what instruments? there is security, economic, but trade agreements, infrastructure investment, , economic assistan, reciprocal access agreements, weapons sales. i mean how do we see south korea flashing this out in the pacific strategy? are the countries where they will be working more intensely first because this is a vast region, or what is of the direction of these people back it initiatives? >> -- these diplomatic initiatives? there has to be a privatization. if a look at south korea strategy there's a lot in there. they make in every region in the

world except antarctica so there's a lot south korea wants to do. but in terms of where they put the emphasis in focus, it makes a lot of sense look at southeast asia and maybe jung can wait and more about asean and partner with the u.s.-south korea alliance but even before the previous government avenue sevea policy. there was already attention toward southeast asia. even the moon government was looking to diversify its risk because of chinese economic coercion that took place in 2016, 2017. korea is korea is still feeling those effects. so what do with southeast asia partners is already a robust trade relationship with the. there's attention towardsh indonesia as well, too. southeast asia's one place to look. it also the pacific islands is another region that i think south korea has taken an interest in in recent years which have not been on the radar.

this includes us not just about security as kathy mitchard. a lot of these projects are about mitigating climate change. it's a infrastructureje investment. this isn't just the defense. it's not just the ministry of defense but the agencies, they are all involved as well. i don't know where, within the different projects what you might put priorities, butdi certainly i think closer to home is where south korea should be placing its emphasis. >> can i who also add south kors move towards the end of pacific region of its focus, it's not just about insecurities increasing in the region because of china. of course as image and economic interests but also south korea has a lot of assets that it can churn terms of knowledge and experience. another area of cooperation that the different members would like

to work on is, for example, vaccines and public health, right? given south korea's relative and will i quite a success in managing covid, others look at south korea as a model to learn from, and that it has something to offer that others can benefit from. >> thank you. so let me ask you about the future of the u.s.-rok alliance. i know last year when president biden and yoon met, in the statement that talked about global comprehensive strategic alliance. that applies aal lot of ambition and elevating this partnership. i wonder how should we interpret thatar term? what with that actually mean for these countries to achieve that kind of partnership? and where do you think, what are the brightest spots for growth in alliance for deepening, becoming a more multi dimensional and what you see as

potential obstacles that we need to navigate to have a deeper alliance for the future? >> yes. if you think about this term global comprehensive strategic alliance, this is not something the framers of the 1953 region of defense treaty would have thought of. a a look at the alliance really terms of the defense, defense of south korea. they were trying to avoid a second korean war. so is about deterring north korea. i'm sure they didn't think about pandemics or supply chain resilience back then. so you can see how far the alliance has come. as i mentioned before though, this isn't something that just appeared with the yoon government. the idea of global korea has been in the making since, i would say in the post-cold war era and following

democratization but it has really come to the forefront. a lot of people, most people in the public eye think about korea and soft power, the korean drama but i think south korea is prepared to go to the next step and have others think about korea being a strategic, such as an economic player, not about samsung or hyundai, its economic growth and development but also thinking about south korea being a security player. in terms of the global companies of strategic alliance it's taking on a a lot of issues that go beyond security, strategy and defense. that means addressing issues like space cooperation or artificial intelligence and technology. and it's also recognition that we can't just think about the peninsula and about northe kore, but a lot of south korea and trained eight interest is wrapped in what happened

geopolitically. recognition of that, we're seeing the light recognizing that talking cooperation and some of his broader issues of global governance, , climate change, climate change supply chain resilience and so forth. >> i think it's inch both of our interest. it's not a lopsided interest. it's a convergence of interest that the u.s. and korea are in the alliance stand up for territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations for democracy and democratic rights for the rule of law and international rules-based order. and neither country can avoid the challenges that are facing us today. i think the past three years has really shown a fragile some of the systems and infrastructures can be. a and they think really a convergence of interests that

have been buttressed by this deep alliance relationship which positions us better for the future of to deal with these challenges. challenges are vast and really are intractable and it's not something one country can decide to do but it's something that requires a coalition, whether through many laterals or multilateral and bilateral but something we all need to be doing together. >> if i can add my two cents, when a think about the future of theseo relationships i think the vast yet untapped potential for the united states and south korea to work together to disseminate economic standards throughout the region, i think that's one area, of coursen we have the free trade agreement and that is very robust agreement that is in much too deep in the bilateral

relationship. in this globalized economy and in a regional or global supply central, it's very important for like-minded countries to beo thinking about the highest standards when it comes to the economy, state-owned enterprises can supply chain issues, critical minerals. list goes on and on. there is a step now with the indo-pacific economic framework and i think that since they could signal that the united states is working together with these of the countries to develop these standards. but i would make the case when it comes to trade and rulemaking you don't put all your eggs in oneef basket and, therefore, its possible to operate on different platforms. eventually thinking about other trade agreements like the transpacific partnership, i think that's what i would like to see when we come to the 80th year of this alliance. that's just my wish list when i think about the potential of the

u.s.-rok alliance. after that let me just ask you, now for more, ten years down the length of the end of the month we have of course state visit of president yoon. if you have any thoughts about what can t we expect from that meeting, what are your thoughts about what will be accomplished, this is y the second time that they meet in washington i believe. what do you think might be deliverables, chemistry between the leaders, anything like to share about your expectations of this meeting. >> i'll go first. i would say it's useful for all of us to keep in mind that the summit meetings are highly scripted. .. optics of the times

can a more important than the content is discussed. i would expect in terms of optics in the u.s. will roll out the red carpet plus some will be gracious as a guest. i'm a little concerned in terms of the personal shakeup in the government in terms of his leading foreign policy working with the u.s. relatively recently and i am sure they'll find ways to coordinate their work (expected in one another the south korean public debris at least according to some polls this idea of south korea exploring his own nuclear deterrence, it might come up.

it might be a little uncomfortable for president union but is expecting reinforcement of the currentpresident biden and those who are facilitating the events would offer additional support, encouragement to

continue to work on improving korea japan relationship and the u.s. would increase support and maybe a little bit of friendly prodding to offer substantial measures of reciprocity after president union olive branch he offered in march. >> let me add on, this is happening in the anniversary on one hand it's going to be celebratory and it's a big deal and not me think last that many years and of course recognition on the korea side coming to the front and center. i think it's kind ofng this

recognizing south korea's contribution especially recently and the supportrt helping promoe rules based, these are things that will be recognized and i don't know if there is any other leader two years and a row president biden, will be one of the highlights so course it will bet gauged without any gaps or mix of both o government rain on smoothly. in terms of issues that will be raised, has been going on for years, you promise initiate the

of the highest levels but when getting in washington there are many conversations and meetings among experts in this group and a lot of talking about export control and economic policies and it's not something that was always the case in the past. you would expect a lot more discussion about north korea and i'm sure it's going to be discussed but there's a lot of things particularly on the korea side to talk about economic security issues and that will be addressed, it did mention north and global issues taking place russia and ukraine although is not part of the region is going to be ongoing conversations there south korea support for ukraine and the ongoing conflict. last, there is the meat and

bones of the alliance so some of the points that is ongoing conversations in the industrial defense cooperation artificial a intelligence and states cooperation that might be discussed with the most important thing is the presentation and making sure both sides show that things will go well. >> hopefully things go well, they will go well. g we are all very excited and of course this is the only second state visit the biden administration will be hosting

so never mind the two but there's another data.out the corn and how special it is. we are working very hard to make sure this will go well. showcased r when so i am allowed to turn to the audience for questions, my lastur question about from robbery. would you have any suggestions?

>> to put on your speed dial so we can get ready for the anniversary of the summit. in all seriousness, i think avenues for ongoing cooperation engagement i think will be welcome. i know you have the state department you are working on these issues so it is a great position to be in and you think it's worth the willingness to play a greater global help with the discussion corruption so while we have a leader whose support of of the lands but also promoting rules based order is the state department and biden administration can leverage that

with the alliance. >> all i will say is i have confidence that she knows what she's doing and she will be just fine without too much from us. >> thank you very much. thank you for your patience, i would like to askor for questios and past the microphone, raise your hand and identify yourself and be very concise and take two at a time and bring some questions from our online audience. >> i am supporter of the christian to produce the. >> press the button. >> sorry about that. as you pointed out, to have nuclear weapons with south

koreans, as a wrinkle in part of that region custody with the view that korea taken seriously like north korea engagement with korea, they need more than deterrence for from the u.s. and they need nuclear weapons. how high is it in the state department? how concerned are you, you. >> thank you so much for being here today. oh my goodness. my name is eleanor, analyst at the asia group. as you all talked about korea

published, i was intrigued by the mention of the quad there's appetite, i think somebody alluded to networking but i am intrigued by the self korea networking which japan has been doing quite a bit in recent years so i'm curious to hear yourn thoughts what you might envision korea's role not in the capacity being a member like the way india and australia are. >> thank you very much. i would like to start with some thoughts, i have seen the polls and reporting and i will leave it to the korean people to explain what they mean but from my feet at the state department and working with colleagues across the river, as the president said the full range of

our military capability including nuclear, those commitments have been unwavering and i'm sure you seen everybody from the president to secretary of state and everybody love them and make sure our defense of the korean people are ironclad. we have expanded the scope of military exercises. it's both bilateral and trilateral and we brought in deterrence and i think you probably saw ttx last month so continue to build on these commitments and we have talked about changing continuity, that is not changed at all and we will continue to build on.

>> there might be people in south korea as well as other countries still suffering the aftermath of the last presidential administration in the united states where allies were left feeling more insecure and unsure about the u.s. positionel but as long as we hae biden and more stable administrations in washington, is a deterrent and no-brainer partial of the alliance. u.s. could say and repeat the promise billions of times and koreans had to accept the deterrence, you don't say that unless you mean it. the other thing i would say is it is debatable whether the issue of south korean nuclear arsenal is something that would

strengthen south korea's hand in any negotiation or interaction because there are those thinking critically the north might want the south to keep desiring or demanding u.s. support of such an independent nuclear system in a weapons system as a way to drive a wedge between washington but also a way to get past korea to invest in something that it really doesn't need given extended deterrence and if south korea goes on a nuclear path in terms of military exploration, that would invite sanctions from an array of actors globally which would hurt south korea so

it is a question whether this would actually be a positive step even just in terms of negotiating quickly on the question about the quad, exactly what south korea wants to do in terms of being more engaged with trilateral's, on the quad when he was onn the campaign talked about creating a member they have to accept that. a stay engaged with these working groups talking about pandemic resilience, supply chain resilience, these are issues south korea and resilience in the indo pacific without having korea part of the and they can

stay engaged with the working group but i also think moving forward especially as korea japan relations improved, there might be a larger role in right now i don't think formal membership should be the goal and i do think in the existing frameworks.. >> i have a gentleman and the online audience. >> thank you so much for doing this the national security respondent regarding that improving relationship between south korea and japan, i was wondering if there might be potential for making headwinds from the united states encouraging security operation between south korea and japan and if there's any room for

building out interoperability doing south korea's military forces in japan'sor korea force. >> thank you very much. i have a question, what role does the united states see south korea playing in helping to the stand against an attack on taiwan? we spent a lot ofhi time talking about north korea but it certainly taiwan. i would amend the question and ask what will south korea see for itself with this south korea's you? >> i'll start with taiwan first and i can speak about japan issue, i don't know if you want to weigh in as well.

the statements in the statement mentioned over the taiwan trade, i haven't seen any open conversations about the contingency plan but speaking personally, my own personal view i think there needs to be more conversations because if there is contingency and you don't have anything in place if something happens to figure out what role south korea i no space would play there has to be more conversations and it's not just korea andt japan or maybe even,a

very will be collected think there needs to be more conversationsne even on addressg taiwan contingency. south korea japan coming from the u.s. so wouldn't be too difficult to improve, i assume if they were to continue to conduct more exercises, i think it would be the reason to improve interoperability military is for koreans to push through that but it's probably hello from my not being government they would be pleased to see greater