PRESIDENT BUSH: Mr. President, it's a great honor to be
here as your guest. Your love of democracy and example of
courage have changed Korea, have challenged Asia, and inspired the
great respect of my government and my country.
All your life you have seen the hope of change and progress where
few could imagine it. You have shown that sometimes the
conscience and will of a single individual can move
history. I admire your visionary leadership, and I thank you
for your hospitality to Laura and me.
We gather today surrounded by reminders of the challenges to peace
and stability on the Korean Peninsula. President Kim has
just showed me a road he built -- a road for peace. And he's
shown me where that road abruptly ends, right here at the
DMZ. That road has the potential to bring the peoples on
both sides of this divided land together, and for the good of all the
Korean people, the North should finish it.
Traveling south on that road, the people of the North would see not
a threat, but a miracle of peaceful development. Asia's
third largest economy that has risen from the ruins of
war. The people of the North would see more than physical
wealth, they would see the creativity and spiritual freedom represented
here today. They would see a great and hopeful alternative
to stagnation and starvation. And they would find friends
and partners in the rebuilding of their country.
South Korea is more than a successful nation, it is an example to
the world. When nations embrace freedom, they find economic
and social progress. When nations accept the rules of the
modern world, they find the benefits of the modern
world. And when nations treat men and women with dignity,
they find true greatness.
When satellites take pictures of the Korean Peninsula at night, the
South is awash in light. The North is almost completely
dark. Kim Dae-jung has put forward a vision that can
illuminate the whole Peninsula. We want all the Koreans to live in the
light. (Applause.)
My vision is clear: I see a Peninsula that is one day
united in commerce and cooperation, instead of divided by barbed wire
and fear. Korean grandparents should be free to spend their final
years with those they love. Korean children should never
starve while a massive army is fed. No nation should be a
prison for its own people. No Korean should be treated as a
cog in the machinery of the state.
And as I stated before the American Congress just a few weeks ago,
we must not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us
with the world's most dangerous weapons.
I speak for these convictions even as we hope for dialogue with the
North. America provides humanitarian food assistance to the
people of North Korea, despite our concerns about the
regime. We're prepared to talk with the North about steps
that would lead to a better future, a future that is more hopeful and
less threatening. But like this road left unbuilt, our offer
has gone unanswered.
Some day we all hope the stability of this Peninsula will be built
on the reconciliation of its two halves. Yet today, the
stability of this Peninsula is built on the great alliance between the
Republic of Korea and the United States.
All of Asia, including North Korea, knows that America will stand
firmly -- will stand firmly -- with our South Korean
allies. (Applause.) We will sustain our obligations with
honor. Our forces and our alliance are strong, and this
strength is the foundation of peace on the Peninsula.
American forces receive generous support from our South Korean
hosts, and we are very grateful. Today we are increasing the
effectiveness of our military forces, even as U.S. troops become a less
intrusive presence in Korea, itself.
Americans are also very grateful for the tremendous outpouring of
sympathy and support shown by the South Korean people following the
terror of September the 11th. Today, both our nations are
cooperating to fight against terror, proving that our alliance is both
regional and global.
The United States and South Korea are bound by common
interests. Our alliance is defined by common
values. We deeply value our own liberty and we care about
the liberty of others. Like the United States, South Korea
has become a beacon of freedom, showing to the world the power of human
liberty to bring down walls and uplift lives.
Today, across the mines and barbed wire, that light shines brighter
than ever. It shines not as a threat to the North, but as an
invitation. People on both sides of this border want to live in
freedom and want to live in dignity, without the threat of violence and
famine and war. I hope that one day soon this hope will be
realized. And when that day comes, all the people of Korea
will find in America a strong and willing friend.