Partnerships for stability

South Korea enjoys "an excellent relationship with the United States", according to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. "The mutual trust that we have towards each other is great and very deep. And I'd like to attach a lot of significance to that," he said during an interview in Seoul recently. A translation and transcript of Lee's remarks were provided by his staff. Excerpts:

 What is the state of US-Korean relations?

In the past the alliance that Korea and the US had was largely confined to security issues on the Korean peninsula but now we've managed to expand that to make it more comprehensive. ... Not only will the US and Korea work towards the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula but they will also work towards bringing stability to northeast Asia and beyond.

The US and Korea will work together to tackle global issues that we both think are very important.

 Why is China's growing influence a concern?

Just to take a couple of steps back historically, Korea, as you can see, is located among what we call big countries. And historically we've always been the victim of numerous invasions and what not. But nowadays in the 21st century, of course, like I said, Korea enjoys a very robust economic partnership and relationship with our neighbour China.

But I said "concern" because, for any country, including Korea, for any economy to be so dependent on one economic partner, I think that is not very good. I think ... many countries want to diversify their economic partners and that is why we were concerned about the growing dependence of not only Korea but other countries in the region towards China.

 Would the concern be less if China were a democracy?

If we shared the same values and systems with China, our concern would be less. ... But of course we respect the differences that are present and we take everything into consideration and we do all that we can to strengthen friendship and partnership with our neighbour.

What is the status of efforts to denuclearise North Korea?

Without continued tough sanctions and measures employed by the members of the six-party talks and the members of the UN Security Council and the international community as a whole, I don't think North Korea will willingly give up its nuclear weapons capabilities.

I am sure President Obama fully understands the situation as well and that is perhaps one reason why we are seeing a very close coordination among the members of the international community when it comes to dealing with the North Koreans. And I think such cooperation and close coordination by the international community is applying a lot of pressure on North Korea, telling them to return to the six-party talks table.

 For a regime willing to let its own people starve, how can sanctions be effective?

There is no denying that the North Korean regime and its leadership are facing a transformative moment. The general population had no choice but to go along with the leadership. Now that is changing. Recently the North Korean leadership failed in its effort to reform its currency; the North Korean economy is worsening by the day; the people's perception about their leadership is changing as well, which is a very, very dramatic and significant change.

How are you detecting this change?

I mentioned their efforts to have currency reform, which failed, and as a result, the ordinary lives of the North Korean people have just gotten worse than before and it is worsening day by day.

We have received a lot of reports from North Korea that for the first time the North Korean leadership is now intent on actually explaining their reason for the failure to the North Korean population — something that we haven't seen before is them admitting that they made mistakes. ... This in itself is a very significant change compared to the past.

 And where could that lead?

This can be an opportunity for us to really explore substantive dialogue with the North Koreans whereby we can convince them to fully give up their nuclear weapons capabilities; we can really sit down and talk about specific ways whereby South Korea and the international community can help the North Koreans in terms of reviving their economy and improving their quality of life. It has never been my intention to topple the North Korean regime but it has been my intention to help the North Korean regime achieve a level of sustainability that can provide the necessary goods to its people.

 You are two years into a five-year term. What have you accomplished and what is your remaining chief goal?

Korea is at a point where we must do all we can to become a more mature and more responsible member of the international community. ... Domestically, I have been getting rid of unnecessary rules and regulations that have been hindering the market economy. ... And on the international side, I have been stressing the importance of carrying out our responsibility as a member of the international community. I think we have been quite successful in doing that. ...

You asked me what I am proud of as president. Well, a survey has been released recently asking Korean people whether they are proud to be Koreans. ... For the first time, it has shown the highest percentage of Koreans who responded saying that they are. ... That is one of the proud aspects that I have as being a president.