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Leaders from the Asia-Pacific regions expressed concern and presented countermeasures for Asian co-prosperity at the Chosun Ilbo-sponsored "Asian Leadership Conference," which opened Thursday.
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jim Bolger said that in order to break through the wealth gap between nations, a revolution in trade was needed. He also said that in order to solve the problems of aging societies, the free movement of labor was urgently needed. Former Japanese Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro said a division mustn't arise between those pushing policies focused on the Asian mainland and those favoring its offshore island chains, and that in the long-term, the dream of a common East Asian community would be realized. He said we must harmonize nationalism with globalization, and that Korea must take the lead in creating a three-way consultative organization between Korea, China and Japan. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad said that we needed a new approach to bringing about globalization, and that there needed to be true understanding between rich and poor nations and strong and week nations. Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said Japan's economic recovery and the rise of China and India were causing waves and changes much greater than those caused by German re-unification. He also Asian leaders must jointly face the changes in the international environment brought on by rapid globalization and technical innovation.
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The ˇ°Asian Leadership Conferenceˇ± hosted by the Chosun Ilbo to mark its 85th anniversary opened at the COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul on Thursday. National and business leaders from the Asia-Pacific region are attending the conference. From left, Sa Kong-il, chairman of the Institute for Global Economics; David Bonderman, chairman of Texas Pacific Group; Henry Kissinger, former U.S. secretary of state; Mahathir Mohammad, former prime minister of Malaysia; Nakasone Yasuhiro, former prime minister of Japan; Megawati Sukarnoputri, former president of Indonesia; Jim Bolger, former prime minister of New Zealand; Ong Keng Yong, secretary general of ASEAN; and Yoon Jong-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics.
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The leaders said that while the tsunamis that struck Southeast Asia were tragic, they also provided an opportunity for the international community to improve the level of their cooperation, and called for the construction of an effective international emergency relief system. Former Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri said nations needed to cooperate to build an early warning system, and that there were some nations that could provide experience and knowledge, and some that could help with financial issues. ASEAN General Secretary Ong Keng Yong said the key was leadership, and that as the tsunami disaster clearly revealed, world leaders need to show the readiness and desire to build a response system for the future.
About the North Korean nuclear issue, U.S. Ambassador to Korea Christopher Hill said Pyongyang needed to understand the six-party talks were the only means leading to the future and only path to receiving help from the international community. He said the U.S. was ready to discuss the plan it presented during the third round of talks. Harvard University Professor Ashton Carter, who served as undersecretary of defense under the Clinton administration, said the six-party talks were complete failures that turned up no real results. He said North Korea's continuous development of nuclear weapons was the responsibility of the South Korean, U.S. and Chinese governments.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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