 although most of his time was spent prior to this in the intelligence agencies as well as in the US military. Let me just say that I think Sid's academic work is also worth praising. I mean people always talk about policy but his academic work is quite good. I'm actually reading a forthcoming book about Kim Il Sung where his book on Kim Il Sung has been cited quite often. I noticed it was cited by this author much more than my book was cited but I'm not counting citations or anything. And then finally I would like to say that this is this is one of our Korea Platform series in the Korea Chair and we are grateful to Samsung Electronics America for their support of the Korea Platform at the Korea Chair. So Sid I will give the floor to you. You may use the podium to make some remarks. Thank you again for joining us. Well thank you Victor for that kind introduction. You know it's an honor to be speaking here today on this particular issue of unification. I know it's an issue that for our Republic of Korea friends here you've grown up your whole lives thinking about virtually and for those who are not Korean who come here via Korean studies, US government work, academic work, journalism from the very you know time you encounter the Korea issue unification of the Korea Peninsula is something we've all given thought through. Personally having followed this and studied it for a few decades myself I'm really glad to see that the discussion is moving beyond the abstract and the theoretical various formulae for unification that when you look back on them had very little to do with the geopolitical or security realities at the time. Instead we're in the realm of the concrete the real. Moving to concrete conceptualization and planning for reality we all know is coming. It's also encouraging to see the shift in the discussion of the economic dimensions of unification which I know you just covered. The idea that unification need not be feared simply because of some unverifiable and alarmist forecast of potential cost is certainly not a new one but in this regard the bold vision and leadership of President Park in declaring that unification is a bonanza or windfall or a tabock to keep it easy in the Korean and that it might bring a bonanza to Korea in the region is certainly an overdue a long overdue and encouraging proclamation and a reframing of the unification discussion. Finally one other encouraging development related to this issue is that there are few people out there today that question the commitment of the United States to unified Korean Peninsula. There may have been a time when many Koreans thought that the US may have thought saw some advantage in a divided Korea Peninsula but that's certainly not the case any longer. Our Korean friends realize that unification is indeed a central tenet of our overall Korea policy and that's what I'd like to speak to today by providing a holistic if brief overview of our broader Korea Peninsula and regional policy goals. I think we can see how the interaction of our various lines of effort on our current approach to the North Korea issue all come together and how all this by extension therefore ties to the issue of reunification. So let me start with a broad but brief regional context. In his August 13th East-West Center speech on the United States vision for Asia-Pacific agreement and Hawaii, Secretary Kerry described how America's security and prosperity are closely and increasingly linked to the Asia-Pacific. In Asia marked by democratic governance, free markets, a rules-based security order and respect for human rights is in everybody's interest. First and foremost for those who make the Asia-Pacific their home and certainly to the United States which has been and always will be a Pacific nation. It's natural therefore that the United States seeks a stable and economically vibrant Asia and is actively involved throughout the region toward that end and of course it should come as no surprise then that these broader goals are the very foundation for our Korea policy as well. You know as we watch these goals materialized in the Republic of Korea a vibrant free market democracy we never lost sight we never lost sight of the fact that our ultimate goal is of a unified Korea. We're all 70 million or so Koreans can enjoy democracy free markets, a respect for human rights and dignity. Our efforts in this regard were never designed to stop at the 38th parallel and nor are they today. In the broadest sense we see a unified Korea with these goals democracy, free market economy, prosperity respect for human rights and dignity as the natural end state toward which the Korean people, we and in fact history itself are heading. That's why the president comments alongside President Park in April of this year stated that the United States, and this is a quote, the United States supports the Korean people's desire for unification and I, the President, share President Park's vision of a unified Korea that's free from the fear of war, free from nuclear weapons and where people throughout the peninsula enjoy the political and economic freedoms that exist here speaking from Seoul in the South and as President Park's own Dresden speech made clear there are planned strategies and actions that we must devise and implement today that lay the foundation for and create the conditions conducive to a peaceful path toward those ends. Actions we take today that lead toward a democratic Korean Peninsula where everybody can enjoy political freedom and have a voice in their future. Actions we can take today that lead to a Korean Peninsula with a vibrant economy where the prosperity enjoyed by people throughout the peninsula contributes to regional and global economic growth and prosperity. Actions we can take today that contribute to a peaceful Korea unification free from weapons of mass destruction, a peaceful Korea Peninsula free from weapons of mass destruction benefiting regional and global security as well and then finally actions we can take today that can lead toward a Korea free of Gulags free of repression and free of the other cruelties that the UN Commission of Inquiry so well documented. Is this ambitious? Yes. Is it too much to handle particularly given the importance of denuclearization and stability? I don't think so. Secretary Kerry in his speech in Hawaii noted that our efforts to denuclearize North Korea and deter and defend against the nuclear missile threat are important and he also emphasized our commitment to speak out against the horrific human rights situation in the north. In doing so the secretary made clear that denuclearization and improved human rights are not mutually exclusive contradictory policy objectives. As the leadership of North Korea begins to make the right strategic choices that can bring the peace and prosperity its people deserve we will see progress on denuclearization we will see progress on human rights we will see economic growth and a better standard of living for the North Korea people. The same type of peace and prosperity that we see marks the rest of the region. Again too difficult impossible contrary to the facts on the ground contrary to the lessons of the last seventy years almost. No I don't think so at all. I mean look at the example of Burma. The example of Burma stands proof of what can happen a transformation that unfolded thanks to a broad strategic decision by its leadership that then translated into a transformation of Burma's relations with the outside world a transformation that unfolded with the international community with the United States in the lead with the international community ready to encourage and enable the changes on the ground that we've seen there. Transformation driven by a pragmatic and clear-eyed recognition that democratic and free market societies flourish while authoritarian repressive regimes wither a transformation that does remain a work in progress a work in process but that shows the potential for a nation when its leadership makes the right decisions to move down a fundamentally different path that may have seen beforehand unimaginable impossible too hard too difficult and as United States is demonstrated by the speed and agility with which it responded diplomatically to these developments in Burma the same option is available to the leadership of the DPRK but until that day comes how do we today move to that future we've identified as our goal how do we translate this aspirational into practical policy objectives and goals this is a good segue into a brief discussion of our current North Korea policy North Korea the United States remains committed to a peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through authentic incredible negotiations let me emphasize again we want to resolve denuclearization via negotiations we're not ideologically opposed to dialogue with North Korea nor have we placed insurmountable obstacles to negotiations in our insisting that North Korea simply demonstrate a willingness to live up to its international obligations and abide by international norms of behavior the bar has not been set too high by insisting that denuclearization talks be about denuclearization and that they would progress along the lines of the September nineteen two thousand five joint statement of the six-party talks now of course talks are not an end unto themselves they are a means to an end talks must lead to a stated purpose in this case denuclearization in order to be authentic talks must demonstrate a possibility for concrete actions for concrete progress to be credible even as we pursue a path to authentic incredible talks leading to complete verifiable never irreversible denuclearization the Korean Peninsula our broader policy goes beyond talks goes beyond just dialogue and integrates three major lines of effort diplomacy pressure and deterrence which i would like to speak to today because together these three lines of effort diplomacy pressure and deterrence seek to roll back the north korean nuclear program while countering deterring and defending against the threat let me start with the latter uh... deterrence uh... i see some representatives of the republic of korea military here active duty and retired who have spent their careers working in the defense of republic of korea it's good to see you here general chung general shim and they will tell you our alliance remain strong our u.s and our okay forces go together on a daily basis in our counter provocation planning insured that pyeongyang clearly knows that as it contemplates its next set of provocations or its next actions it faces a rock solid u.s our okay alliance in response to the north's pursuit of uh... nuclear missile capabilities are counter missile planning our tailored extended deterrence stand as concrete examples of our shared commitment to deny north korean ability to threaten and intimidate the republic of korea through its pursuit of these capabilities and in the face of outlandish rhetorical threats and posturing our firm yet calm responses coupled with our seamless and transparent u.s our okay cooperation remain the foundation of our success in denying north korea the benefits of its provocative behavior and attempts at coercive diplomacy deterrence is working security is insured on pressure is important to know our sanctions are not designed to hurt the north korean people they are designed instead for a number of purposes that contribute to peace and stability on the peninsula uh... our sanctions are key element of our efforts to constrain the growth of the north's wmd program to curtail its proliferation activities worldwide and by impeding the exports and repatriation of profits from illicit sales abroad we're able to deny north korea the resources it needs to sustain and advance its nuclear missile programs by inflicting an economic indifference diplomatic cost for behavior that clearly runs counter to international norms and dpr k's own international obligations we also sharpen the dpr k's choices and lead the leadership in pyongyang to make better choices that will benefit its country and its people we also make clear that pyongyang's aspirations for improving its economy and uh... improving the livelihood of its people are fundamentally inconsistent with this pursuit of nuclear weapons thereby moving forward we will continue to seek robust implementation of u and security council resolutions and u s sanctions on north korea if the dpr k makes the right choice returns to the negotiating table and embarks on a credible path of a reversible denuclearization and begins to come into compliance with this international obligations and commitments the appropriateness of these sanctions would of course be reviewed but with our ultimate goal being denuclearization of the korean peninsula through peaceful means we continue to believe that a dual track approach dialogue is possible pressure is necessary is the best path to authentic incredible negotiations which brings us to the role of diplomacy and the question that i'm sure many of you have how do we get dpr k how do we get north korea back on the denuclearization path first let me say that we believe the six-party talks framework has provided and continues to provide a useful platform for diplomacy it has over the past several years helped us bring uh... a consensus to the need for north korea to return to a credible path of denuclearization and will continue to use this framework moving forward we build a strong international consensus on the need for north korea to denuclearize we strengthen cooperation with the other four parties uh... within that framework and most importantly we've maintained five-party commitment and consensus on the september nineteen two thousand five joint statement as the bedrock framework for a path toward denuclearization that in return would bring a range of diplomatic economic and security benefits to the dpr k with the september nineteen statement there is remarkable clarity to the expectations of the dpr k in terms of denuclearization and the potential benefits to pyeongyang should it choose this path and of course the united states for the past five years has demonstrated a willingness to engage north korea we did so with ambassador bosworth's trip to pyeongyang in december two thousand and nine after the events earlier that year of a table don't launch in a nuclear test with a process that began in two thousand and eleven after the chananam in the young pyeongchiling uh... with the process that led to the february twenty-ninth twenty-twelve understanding which uh... was shortly thereafter walked away from by the north and of course with our contacts through the new york channel our policy is not one of not talking for the sake of not talking if you can handle the triple negative we have been it will continue to be willing to engage pyeongyang engaged pyeongyang to probe its intentions to push and urge it to make the right decision by presenting to the leadership an alternative path and approve to prove our sincere commitment to improve u s dpr k relations once north korea begins to move down the path of denuclearization but clearly the ball is in pyeongyang's court so of course one can see all the three-pillar approach deterrence pressure diplomacy uh... also contributes to creating the types of conditions favorable to the future we all envision that we're all talking about here today a unified crea peninsula that's free of war free of nuclear weapons and just plain free we engage in diplomacy to seek a breakthrough on denuclearization and to ensure that the international community speaks with one voice in that pyeongyang here's one voice telling pyeongyang that the peace security and prosperity it seeks remain possible only once the leadership makes a decision to move down the path of denuclearization we can use pressure is needed to constrain those aspects of north korea behavior that are destabilizing and detrimental to our goal of laying the groundwork for peace prosperity and security that enables unification down the road and then finally until we get to that day we will seek to ensure a safe korean peninsula through deterrence looking for the day when the threat posed on the peninsula no longer exist we will speak out on the human rights issue as we look toward the day when koreans throughout the peninsula enjoy the same political and economic freedoms now enjoyed in the republic of korea to the day when human rights are guaranteed to the day when political prison camps are emptied and we stand ready as president pock also has made quite clear we stand ready to engage with the denuclearizing north korea to help its leadership move the country down a different path in which ultimately a transformed dprk can begin to join in and enjoy the dynamic prosperity that marks the rest of the region the conversations you're having here today uh... look forward to a process we all hope a unification process we all hope will unfold in the not-too-distant future the mere fact that we are here today reflects our shared understanding and by our i mean including that of u.s. official policy our shared understanding that planning for this day as you you're doing here today is a task that we can not put off we simply cannot afford to wait well thank you said for uh... very helpful statement of where policy is and what u.s. aspirations are uh... for the peninsula uh... uh... doctor south has time for a couple of questions before he has to go back to work in his new office uh... so uh... uh... we'll open the floor to a couple of questions and then please identify yourself be brief ask a question hello uh... my name is mitch mitchie niosky and i'm a student at the alley at school you know we we talk that the leadership uh... in pyeongyang is a rational and that it does things that are counter to its interests but uh... what i think we could all agree on is that pyeongyang works to protect itself in the nineteen nineties uh... the country of ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons for security agreement with uh... russia in the united states uh... to protect it in the event of an attack uh... since then one of them has attacked ukraine and the other one has failed to protect it uh... given that do you think that north korea uh... in protecting its own interest has any intention or can see any credibility in an agreement from the u.s. or by that extent to six-party talks thank you very much well it's an excellent question but uh... i think it's one really that you would have to uh... ask the leadership of pyeongyang but let me say that you know the the framework of the six-party talks uh... approach to denuclearization and why uh... we have sought for the past several years uh... going back to previous administration did to pursue a multilateral approach is because the type of environment in which north korea could move forward uh... confident of of its uh... its sovereignty is respected its interests are are reflected that uh... nobody teams up or bullies it uh... is found in the six-party talks process you have the major surrounding powers uh... uh... all the relevant parties there at the table it provides uh... aside from the question of of security guarantees and what might be generated through the process the very process itself provides an end up an environment that i believe in we believe is conducive to north korea moving down the path of denuclearization without having fears for its security along the lines of uh... you know the example you provided uh... dr green uh... so thank you for coming in congratulations on a new job and you're the right man for the job and uh... and i don't know what you did wrong to get it it's gonna be hard but i think all of us who follow this issue have great confidence uh... in the fact you're there in the presentation you gave uh... it was a good speech i agree with all of it the only thing i would say is victor charo michael green could have given that speech in two thousand six in the bush administration and since then things have happened uh... nuclear tests in the north korean uh... changed the constitution and declaration that they are a nuclear weapons state uh... so how is the administration explaining that piece of it we want to get back on the path of denuclearization six-party talks to the right framework but what do we do about cheating and perforation that has occurred since the six-party talks for last uh... meeting uh... michael that's an excellent question i this is why i i put the synthesis on the three pillars because the they they do they're mutually complimentary uh... they taken to concerns of realities of the difficulties we're facing uh... in terms of getting authentic incredible negotiations restarted at this time uh... take advantage of of the the international uh... consensus in terms of an unacceptability of a nuclear in north korea and that and the threat posed by proliferation to build the type of uh... international cooperation necessary to strengthen a prolific uh... counter-proliferation regime to to limit it's not perfect it's not a you know uh... a loophole free system out there but to limit north korea's ability to benefit from its illicit activities abroad this proliferation activities reduce its benefits and also in terms of of taking the actions necessary in terms of our military posture our military training our missile defense capabilities so that we counter the threat to whatever degree it's developed so it's it's prophylactic in terms of of uh... trying to counter the threat that's emerged and so we will continue to try to seek a negotiated uh... settlement to this issue we will continue to apply the pressure necessary so that the leadership in pyongyang realizes that it's true security and prosperity will only come when it walks away from that when it you know holds on to uh... these capabilities and in the meantime uh... take the actions necessary for the defense of the united states defense of the republic of korea the defense of japan and defense of others uh... many many uh... who are threatened by these uh... capabilities as they develop uh... i'm gonna i'm gonna have to close the floor i'm sorry but let me just ask you one question before i do is the prerogative of the chair so as you know said that you know the news story today about north korea about these three americans that are detained there uh... can you tell us what the u.s. administration is doing to get these folks out uh... when the prospects of that are very likely at this moment what you know goes about saying but it's it's worth repeating that you know the top priority the united states government is a safety safety of our citizens abroad and it's uh... we have three cases there that have been ongoing for some time we have uh... worked to secure the release of of all three through uh... new york channel through the swedes and uh... you know i think you would appreciate uh... uh... and i think everybody here would appreciate that the sensitive details of our negotiations uh... in our efforts uh... aren't really going to be played out through this room but uh... you know the uh... these three cases have have uh... posed a significant obstacle to an improvement of u.s. dpr k relations and we hope that uh... north korea would act uh... in a in a humane and uh... right way in helping us resolve these in the near future well uh... i think on behalf of everyone here we want to thank you for joining us today allowing us to be part of your coming out party and uh... we know you have to get back to work so thanks very much really appreciate it