[현장생중계]① Joint statement at a press conference by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense of Korea and the United States

[사회자]

First of all, the Foreign Minister Eui-Yong Chung will speak.

[정의용 / 외교부 장관]

Hello? We are pleased to be here with Secretary of State Blincoln, Secretary of Defense Austin, and Secretary of Defense Seo Wook.

First of all, I would like to express my deepest consolation and condolences to the victims for the casualties that occurred in the shooting incident in Atlanta yesterday.

It was confirmed that among the victims, Korean descent was also present. The Korean government is also paying close attention to the situation for the safety of overseas Koreans.

I express my special condolences to the American people. Also, in all of those meetings, I am grateful that Secretary of Defense Blincoln and Secretary of Defense Austin gave deep condolences to the victims of the Korean descent.

I would like to express my welcome again to the two ministers who visited Korea in the early days of his inauguration. It is the first time in 11 years since 2010 that the US Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense have visited Korea together.

At today’s meeting, the two countries once again affirmed that the ROK-US alliance with a history of 70 years is the key axis of peace, security, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

Also, based on a solid alliance, we have made it clear our will to strengthen strategic communication between the two countries. The Korean government expects this momentum of cooperation to lead to the Korea-US summit in the near future.

The diplomatic and defense ministers of both countries fully sympathized with the strength of the alliance and the importance of unity amid increasing global threats. Based on this common recognition, we decided to strengthen consultations on alliance issues and expand complementary and future-oriented cooperation in various fields.

Myung-shik Go, a recent agreement to share defense costs between the US and the ROK, reaffirmed the solidity of the ROK-US alliance by resolving a long-standing pending issue between the two countries.

Next, the two countries confirmed three great consensus on the issue of the Korean Peninsula. First, we reaffirmed that the North Korean nuclear issue is an urgent issue and that close cooperation between the two countries is of paramount importance.

Second, we decided to do our best diplomatic efforts on a solid security basis for a peaceful solution to the North Korean nuclear issue. Lastly, we decided to work closely together based on a completely coordinated strategy in the process of reviewing the US policy toward North Korea as well as its implementation.

The ROK and the United States will continue to cooperate to advance the peace process on the Korean Peninsula in the future. Meanwhile, the two countries have decided to continue reciprocal and future-oriented cooperation between the three countries in order to achieve peace, security and prosperity in the region.

In addition, we have decided to promote joint stability and prosperity in the region through linkage and cooperation with our new southern policy. We also decided to respond together based on the ROK-US alliance to threats to humanity such as climate change and Corona 19.

In addition, through today’s meeting, the four ministers reaffirmed the effectiveness of the 2+2 Ministerial Meeting and decided to continue holding it. At today’s meeting, we once again reaffirmed the strength of the ROK and the United States together.

Based on shared values ​​and trust, such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law, the two countries decided to develop the ROK-US alliance, the best asset of both countries, to be sound, reciprocal, inclusive, and to meet the demands of the times. That is all.

[사회자]

Thank you, Secretary. Next, Secretary of State Blincoln will speak.

[토니 블링컨 / 미 국무장관]

Hello? And to Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeong Eui-yong, thank you for welcoming us like this. It is a great honor to be together. And I would like to say that it is a great honor to be with the two defense ministers who have been with us.

Today we had a 2+2 meeting. Thank you for inviting and welcoming me for two days. And, as always to the Korean people, thank you for your hospitality.

What I want to emphasize once again is the ideology of the Atlanta shootings. I’ve heard here that four Korean Americans are in casualties.

All of this violence will have to happen together. This visit is the first overseas visit to President Biden’s cabinet.

And it is no coincidence that I and Secretary Austin came to Korea for that destination. The ROK-US alliance has long been said to be a key axis of peace, security and prosperity in Northeast Asia, the Indo-Pacific and the world.

We are here not only to reaffirm our alliance, but to further develop our alliance. And let me tell you that we are already doing that.

We just went to a principled consensus on the phrase and saw it. This is the result of both sides working tirelessly to reach a fair and equitable agreement and will strengthen our alliance and our common defense.

This effort and the trip to the region I believe are part of the Biden-Harrison administration’s commitment to revitalizing alliances and partnerships around the world.

Such an alliance is vital to the security and prosperity of our people. We emphasized this same message in our meetings with Japan earlier this week, and this is the message reflected in the joint statement signed here today.

With the new involvement, we will be more firmly positioned to address common security issues in this region and around the world. And this includes the crisis from North Korea.

The Biden administration plans to complete cooperation with North Korea on close consultations with South Korea, Japan and other partners.
In this process, we will review the options for pressure and the possibility of diplomatic options in the future.

However, as I also told Ministers Chung and Seo, the goal of this policy is very clear. We are committed to the denuclearization of North Korea and its aim is to reduce the widespread threat that North Korea poses to the United States and our alliance and to improve the lives of all Koreans, including North Koreans.

North Koreans are being subjected to widespread and systematic abuse under an oppressive regime. We also had discussions about China.

We are clearly aware that China has consistently broken its promises and discussed how China’s aggressive and authoritative actions are creating difficulties in stability, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

Because of China’s actions, a common approach among our allies… is thought. Democracy and human rights are retreating around the world. In Burma, the military is trying to overturn the democratic election results by trampling democratic forces.

I think the more important it is to counter China’s anti-democratic actions in these times. And through it, we must be together.

And we also dealt with a variety of cross-border issues. It has dealt with issues such as cybersecurity, security, and climate change. When the alliance between our two countries was formed, these threats did not even exist, but now they are a major issue.

And together we will tackle this threat through trilateral cooperation between the United States, Korea and Japan. I think it has become clear that our diplomatic and security alliance is as tight as it is, but the depth of US-ROK relations is more than that.

Our alliance is rooted in mutual trust, shared values, deeply intertwined economic interests, generations of family and community problems, and experiences of empowering each other in the most difficult and difficult times.

We saw this in the early days of the pandemic. At that time, Korea sent 2 million masks to the United States, helping us to break through our serious mask crisis.

Of these, 500,000 masks were sent to the US Veterans Affairs Office. This means that American veterans who fought shoulder to shoulder with the Korean people 70 years ago wore masks donated by Korea and were thus protected from the deadly virus.

I wonder if this is a true alliance. Thank you. We look forward to your questions. We are pleased to be here with you.

[사회자]

Thank you, Secretary. Next, Defense Minister Seo-wook will speak.

[서욱 / 국방부 장관]

Through the meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense held today after five years, the ministers of both countries were able to reaffirm the solid solidarity of the ROK-US alliance, which has grown with over 70 years of dedication and trust.

In addition, we evaluated that the ROK-US alliance maintains a strong combined defense posture based on the ROK-US Mutual Defense Treaty, and reaffirmed our commitment to combined defense and expansion deterrence for the defense of the Republic of Korea.

In addition to evaluating the readiness of the alliance, we determined that considerable progress has been made in meeting the conditions for OPCON transition through joint efforts between the two countries so far, and decided to continue discussions between the two countries for the transition to OPCON.

The Ministers of the Republic of Korea and the United States agreed to continue working closely and communicate closely to achieve the common goal of complete denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

For peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, which are the common interests of the two countries, we have decided to continue harmonious cooperation between Korea’s New Southern Policy and the United States’ Indo-Pacific Strategy.

In addition, the ministers of both countries agreed to work closely together to respond to global challenges such as climate change and the Corona 19 pandemic.

Based on the solid ROK-US alliance reaffirmed through today’s meeting, the US and ROK ministers will continue close communication and cooperation so that the ROK-US alliance can further develop in a more future-oriented and complementary manner in the future. Thank you.

[사회자]

Thank you, Secretary. Then the Secretary of Defense Austin will speak.

[로이드 오스틴 / 미 국방장관]

Secretary Seo Wook, Minister Eui Yong Eui, and Secretary Blincoln. It is an honor to be able to gather with you in Seoul.

First of all, as my colleagues have said, I can’t help but be surprised by yesterday’s shooting in Atlanta, Georgia. I would like to express my sincere condolences especially to the bereaved families of the victims and the families of the victims for this incident. The occurrence of such a violent situation is unacceptable anywhere in our society.

Today’s meeting was a hallmark of the importance of our alliance. Faced with many challenges, our relationship in blood is more important than ever. For 70 years, the United States’ commitment to the ROK-US alliance has been strong. As Secretary Blincoln said, it was like an iron.

Our alliance is based on common interests and values ​​and is the strongest bilateral interoperability and dynamic alliance in the world. We believe that our alliance is important not only for the security of Korea and the United States, but also for peace and stability in Northeast Asia and the free and open Indo-Pacific region.

The United States is fully committed to South Korea’s defense by mobilizing its overall capabilities, including extended deterrence. The United States and South Korea continue to maintain a strong combined defense posture and are committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. There is no disagreement between the ROK and the United States on this matter.

Today we discussed the future direction of important strategic and operational issues. My top priority issue was the importance of maintaining military readiness. Our military is immediately maintaining a fight-ready, fight-to-night stance, and is making progress with the transition of wartime combat control, which ultimately transforms into a future combined command under the command of the ROK military. It will take more time to meet the conditions for OPCON transition, but we believe that this transition will strengthen the alliance.

We have so much left to do together. We must respond to global security challenges and strategic competition in the long run. In particular, China, as you know, is a challenge to be pursued from the perspective of the US Department of Defense in the future. Currently, we are constantly trying to identify areas that can be announced in line with each country’s regional strategy, especially those that can be supported, such as the underlying international order and capacity building of regional partners.

In particular, I am very grateful for what you ordered to negotiate for our defense cost share. The agreement itself reflects the President’s willingness to revitalize the network of partnerships and alliances in the United States. We reaffirmed our commitment to security cooperation between the US and Japan. This is because we know the value of multilateralism and value a forward-looking perspective in order to cope with common challenges in the present and in the future.

Today’s meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense reflects our belief that democracy backed by a strong combined defense posture and close cooperation between our allies and partners can overcome all challenges and outpace any rival. This is why we value the ROK-US alliance that much.

Our alliance has been a key pillar of peace, security and prosperity in the Intae region for more than 70 years. Together we faced a number of challenges and we’ve been responding to them every time.

We feel grateful that Korea can be America’s closest allies and partners, and we are confident that our two countries will continue to stand side by side, and that we will be able to cope with every challenge and any other partner in the next 70 years and beyond. As I said to Secretary Seo-wook yesterday, we will continue to go into the future together. Thank you.