Her Excellency President Park Geun-hye: Statesmen’s Forum Address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

A CSIS Statesmen’s Forum Address by Her Excellency President Park Geun-hye as released by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the United States.

President Hamre, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to meet you.
My thanks go out to the CSIS staff who worked so hard to organize this event.

Late last month, I was in New York to attend the UN General Assembly. A fortnight later, here I am back in Washington DC.

My trip between New York and Seoul and back to Washington is testament to the Korea-US alliance, which is being guided by the founding vision and ideals of the United Nations and which continues to evolve into an ever stronger and dynamic alliance.

In my keynote address at the 70th UN General Assembly, I spelled out Korea’s commitment to contribute to international peace, security and shared prosperity. For Korea itself has been a beneficiary of the post-war order and a trusted partner of the United Nations.

The journey Korea embarked on in the seven decades since the war was a process of bringing to life the values and ideals of the United Nations and also a history of the Korea-US alliance that continues to evolve.

The Korea-US alliance was a steadfast buttress as Korea defended the values of democracy, the free market system and human rights on the Korean Peninsula, and developed into a vibrant economy from the ashes of war.

Our two countries have ventured together on this great journey spaning 70 years, and now we stand poised to make another leap forward. The journey ahead will be charted together by our two countries as staunch partners in the service of humanity.