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Home : Media : News : News Article View

# State’s Kim on U.S. Engagement with Asia-Pacific

By Sung Kim, Special Representative for North Korea Policy

                Washington, D.C.  –              
Over the past 70 years, we have witnessed amazing developments in the  Asia-Pacific region. With hundreds of millions of citizens lifted out of  poverty, the region is home to some of the fastest growing economies on the  planet, home to more than one-third of the world’s population, and of course  many dictatorships have been replaced by vibrant democracies in this dynamic  region.

Nowhere are economic and strategic opportunities clearer or more compelling  than in the Asia-Pacific. This is why the President made the strategic decision  to rebalance America’s engagement and resources toward the region. Just think  about the number of Presidential trips to the Asia-Pacific. The President has  made seven visits to the region, including three separate visits to Japan and  four visits to Seoul. Secretary Kerry has traveled to the region nine times in  just two years.

So given this strategic and economic context, and the incredible potential  for continued gains, it’s natural that President Obama decided that we need to  double-down on our engagement with the region. As you know, there are several  important aspects to this strategy.

The first pillar of the rebalance is of course our commitment to the region’s  security, so we’re enhancing and modernizing our alliances, especially with  Japan. Our two nations are revising our bilateral Defense Guidelines for the  first time in nearly two decades. This review will help the Alliance evolve to  reflect both the shifting security environment and the growing capabilities of  Japan’s Self-Defense Forces. We’re conducting this review with maximum  transparency: the United States and Japan are explaining our plans both  domestically and internationally. This includes publishing an interim report on  the new guidelines for public review. Meanwhile, we welcome Japan’s national  discussion on collective self-defense.

We’ve also strengthened our security alliances with the Republic of Korea and  other partners in the region. With the ROK, we have a new framework for the  transfer of operational control of military forces during wartime that fully  takes into account the critical defense capabilities needed, and the evolving  security situation in the region. And our new Special Measures Agreement, or  SMA, with South Korea ensures the continued resources our troops need to do  their job.

So I think we are doing quite well on strengthening our alliances with both  Japan and Korea. An equally exciting trend in our relations with our two close  friends is that our partnerships with them are becoming increasingly global.

Think about what Japan has done recently. Japan has played a vital role in  the global coalition against ISIL, and provided very generous humanitarian  assistance across the affected area -- and has felt firsthand the barbarity of  ISIL’s brutal tactics. We too were deeply saddened by the tragic murders of Mr.  Yukawa and Mr. Goto. At the same time, we were impressed by the Japanese  government’s brave demonstration of resolve and solidarity against  terrorism.

Japan has issued sanctions against Russia in response to its aggression in  Ukraine, while offering $300 million in budgetary support to Ukraine’s  Government. Japan remains united with us and the other G-7 nations in making  clear to Russia the costs of its actions. The United States and Japan are two of  the biggest contributors to the UN Green Climate Fund – which the ROK will host  – to help developing countries counter climate change. I think this is a great  example of the three countries’ cooperation on an important global initiative.  On Ebola, Japan has donated about $150 million in the last year, and worked to  alleviate health challenges and poverty across Africa and the world for many  years before that. We applaud and welcome Japan’s commitment to peace and  development in a region far from its shores.

The security provided by America’s alliance partnerships in the region have  enabled an amazing economic miracle to take place, while U.S. businesses,  workers, farmers, and consumers have been a dependable foundation for growth in  the Asia-Pacific for decades.

We remain the single largest source of foreign direct investment in the  region – U.S. investment stock in the Asia-Pacific reached $622 billion a couple  of years ago in 2012. We are also the most important market for Asian goods,  exchanging well over $1 trillion dollars in trade with the region each year.

But we’re not the only driver of growth in the Asia. Japan is fueling  billions of dollars in trade with countries in the region. Overall, trade among  APEC nations reached $1.4 trillion this year and is outpacing global trade  growth by a 40 percent margin.

As we look forward, the single most important step we can take together for  our economic relationships is completing the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The TPP  is essential to President Obama’s top priority of creating good jobs in America.  No doubt TPP will create jobs here but it’s really much more than that. We are  working together to create a rules-based regional trade architecture built on  transparency and competition. TPP will lower tariffs and bring high standards to  an area covering a third of global trade and 40 percent of its GDP. It will  change how we trade for decades to come.

This agreement is about more than the economic opportunities it unleashes,  because the fact is, TPP is not just a technical trade agreement, it’s a  strategic opportunity for the entire region. It will cement the strong alliance  framework and partnerships that ensure the Asia-Pacific’s security and  prosperity. We’ve long had a security presence in the region. The TPP will  assure our allies and partners that our long-term commitment to the region  reaches beyond security and into the economic realm.

TPP is also about protecting and promoting values – important values like  fair labor standards, environmental protection, and laws updating intellectual  property rights. Indeed, the standards enshrined within this agreement reflect  our values and interests as nations committed to dynamic, just, and rules-based  economic practices. Through TPP, our two countries are helping lead the region  to higher standards for trade. But to achieve these ambitious goals, we need to  resolve the remaining bilateral issues between us.

We believe the end of the negotiations is in sight. And we’re excited.  Concluding and ratifying this agreement is the most important thing we can do  this year to strengthen our relationships around the Pacific Rim for many, many  years to come.

Japan and other allies such as the ROK are key partners in the regional  institutions that help apply values of human rights, democracy, and the rule of  law and make them real. Both countries are members of the Association of  Southeast Asian Nations’ “ASEAN plus three” group, and in EAS, APEC and the G20.  Meanwhile, as the two largest economies in Asia, stable and productive relations  between China and Japan are essential to the peace and prosperity of the region  and the world.

We welcome last November’s understanding between China and Japan to improve  relations, in particular their stated intent to establish a crisis management  mechanism to avoid accidents. We hope that mechanism comes to pass. Last July,  Chinese President Xi became the first Chinese president to visit Seoul before  visiting Pyongyang – or even meeting the North Korean leader. Before that visit,  President Park had a good visit to China, her second overseas trip as President.  Her first trip was of course to the US.

Now, I really don’t want to move away from these positive developments in the  region but I know I have to talk to you about the gravest security threat we  face in Asia: North Korea. Over the years, I have had opportunities to discuss  this with many of you -- Frank, Mark (CRS), Shigeo... I wish I had something  encouraging to report but unfortunately I don’t...

The DPRK’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, its rejection  of international obligations, its broken promises, its provocations, and its  flagrant disregard for international norms -- including respecting the human  rights of its people -- are a direct challenge to the stability and security of  NE Asia. Together with the international community, we are making clear to the  DPRK that abandoning this course and abiding by international laws and  obligations is the only way to end its political and economic isolation.

The Executive Order signed by the President on January 2 is an important new  tool, enhancing our ability to apply pressure on Pyongyang. It responds to the  attack on Sony Pictures, but also provides a framework for addressing the full  range of DPRK illicit behavior going forward.

Our alliances with Japan and the Republic of Korea are at the core of our  Six-Party diplomacy. Both allies remain fully committed to the goal of the  denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and an end to North Korea’s illicit  behavior.

Meanwhile, in the year since the UN Commission of Inquiry documented North  Korea’s dire human rights situation, we have worked closely with the  international community to maintain focus on this issue. The UN Human Rights  Council and General Assembly this past year adopted by overwhelming margins  resolutions calling for accountability for North Korea’s human rights abuses. We  have made clear that we will respond to the DPRK’s misbehavior. We have no  illusions about the DPRK’s willingness to abandon its illicit weapons,  provocations, and human rights abuses on its own. We will continue to apply  pressure both multilaterally and unilaterally to increase the costs to the DPRK  of its destructive policy choices.

At the same time, the United States has offered – and continues to offer –  Pyongyang an improved bilateral relationship provided it works with us to  fulfill its denuclearization commitments and address other important concerns.  And we will continue to pursue credible and authentic negotiations to bring the  DPRK into compliance with its denuclearization obligations.

This year is the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and founding of  the U.N, as well as the 50th anniversary of the normalization of relations  between Korea and Japan. Perhaps the most delicate challenge we face together,  in this year of remembrance, is addressing the sensitive legacy of the last  century. We welcomed Prime Minister Abe’s New Year’s remarks, which started 2015  on a positive note. I believe firmly that all have an interest in working  together – in handling commemorations this year in a way that truly promotes  reconciliation.

The fact is that Americans should care deeply about Japan’s relationships  with its neighbors. All of us have a huge stake in cooperation in Northeast  Asia.

That’s why I’m glad that my Japanese and Korean colleagues work closely  together, including on a trilateral basis with the United States on issues such  as North Korea, even as they try to address difficult and painful issues from  the past.

Let me conclude by talking briefly about something that is perhaps the most  basic aspect of our relations with both Japan and Korea: people-to-people ties.  One of the most important things I learned during my 26 years in diplomacy,  especially as Ambassador to Seoul, is the value of people-to-people exchanges at  all levels -- professionals, high school students, college students, scientists,  businesspeople, artists. These connections are what bring countries together.  We’re pleased to work with the Japanese government in trying to expand such  programs, especially study abroad programs. As you know, the number of Japanese  students studying in the United States has dropped precipitously since the late  90s. We encourage and support the Japanese government’s efforts to double  student exchanges with the rest of the world by 2020.

As Deputy Secretary Blinken noted during his visit to Tokyo last week, the  No. 1 supporter and cheerleader for these programs is President Obama. He  himself benefitted from exchange programs in his youth. He knows the power that  they bring.

So let me thank again the S&R Foundation and the Mansfield Foundation for  all your work to deepen ties between Americans and Japanese, and for allowing me  to address this terrific audience. Thank you very much.

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State’s Kim on U.S. Engagement with Asia-Pacific