On Korea-U.S. Alliance
and North Korea
- Former PM Goh calls ties with the U.S. key to peace in N.E. Asia

Goh Kun, the former prime minister, delivered a speech at Harvard University on March 16 at the joint invitation of the university's Kennedy School and Asia Center attending 'the Invitational Forum for Important World Leaders.' He visited the United States from March 12 to March 25. His speech was entitled, "The Future of Korea-U.S. Relations and North Korean Problem."
During the visit, he met with many U.S. political leaders and has successfully conducted a civilian diplomacy bringing them up to date on recent Korean situation and enlisting their support for Korea.
In his speech, the former prime minister who now is an advisor for the Institute of Dasan Studies in Seoul said strong Korea-U.S. ties is needed now more than ever and it needs to be further strengthened in tune with the change of time. The relationship goes back to the end of the Second World War with the U.S. troops landing in South Korea to disarm Japanese colonial forces. When North Korea invaded the South in 1950, the U.S. quickly sent troops and defended Seoul from onrushing North Korean troops with their blood. About 40,000 U.S. soldiers died during the three-year war which ended with the signing of truce, leaving the two Koreas divided and still at war with each other, despite the loss of millions of lives during the conflict and the end of the Cold War.
South Korea has now grown to become a liberal democratic country with a burgeoning market economy with many diversified voices. A case in point is the tragic death of two middle school girls hit by U.S. military vehicles about three years ago. U.S. military court let the responsible U.S. soldiers go free, enraging Korean public. The public anger, however, had not challenged Korea-U.S. ties, except that it showed a mature Korea with diversified public opinions.
"I believe that our two countries should be able to manage their relationship very well with wisdom and a judicious manner, especially in this rapid transition period."
The Korea-U.S. relations extended beyond the Korean Peninsula with South Korea sending troops to the Vietnam War and most recently to Iraq to help peace in the Middle East country. He said he could say that Korea and the United States maintained one of the most successful cases of security cooperation in world history.
Any changes in the flexibility of U.S. military strategy in Korea should be handled in a judicious manner in terms of the Korea-U.S. alliance's important role on the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. is obligated to convince the Korean people that changes in the U.S. military role will be carried out to the extent that they will not hurt stability on the peninsula.
Both Korea and the United States should make its security cooperation extend to other key areas like the economy, culture and social sectors to make their alliance a comprehensive one.
He expects the U.S. to continue to play the role of a stable force in Northeast Asia even after the Korean Peninsula is unified.
To South Korea, North Korea is a military threat, but at the same time, it is a country where the same people live. For this reason, we have been trying to change it through dialogue, economic aid and cooperation, despite military threats. In a word, it is a double nature in the South-North relations. The South Korean government's inter-Korean policy has been aimed at pursuing harmony and cooperation to achieve unification, relaxing tension.
North Korea said it would not participate in six-party talks with an announcement that it has nuclear weapons, which could be viewed in many ways. For one, the North might want to develop nuclear weapons as it said it would and another intention is to strengthen its hand in the talks. But the most important matter is that it should be solved in peaceful manner, not military means, and no matter what the situation. He said he believes that the U.S. can hold serious talks with North Korea with the six-party format. The Korean government, too, has ample reason to look for chances to conduct talks with the U.S. and North Korea within the framework of six-party talks.
He said he cannot think of a good solutions for the six party talks. He would like to suggest to the U.S. that it promises to guarantee North Korea's security so that the North might rejoin the talks.
He would like also to tell the North to return to the talks by quoting President John Kennedy's word, "Let's not negotiate from fear, and let's not fear to hold talks." The North Korean leader would not have to fear the U.S. as long as he promises to abandon his nuclear ambitions and keep the promise sincerely. nw