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Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice concluded the first regular strategic ministerial meeting between the two countries on Thursday with a compromise on the issue of strategic flexibility for the U.S. Forces in Korea, a matter that has bedeviled the alliance for over a year.
Korea¡°as an ally, fully understands the rationale for the transformation of the U.S. global military strategy, and respects the necessity for strategic flexibility of the USFK,¡± the two top diplomats said in a joint statement in Washington. In return, ¡°the U.S. respects Korea¡¯s position that they will not be involved in a regional conflict in Northeast Asia against the will of the Korean people.¡±
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Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon gestures while U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice looks on before their meeting at the State Department in Washington on Thursday.
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The two ministers also agreed on the importance of resolving the North Korean nuclear impasse peacefully to establish a permanent peace settlement for the Korean Peninsula and urged Pyongyang to return unconditionally to six-nation nuclear talks.
Kim Sook, the head of the Foreign Ministry¡¯s North American affairs bureau, told reporters the two countries ¡°agreed to make efforts to expand democracy and human rights all over the world, and also agreed to step up cooperation to stop proliferation of weapons of mass destruction ¡¦ and to prevent terrorism.¡± He would not be drawn on whether the two ministers discussed U.S. allegations that North Korea is involved in illegal activities including counterfeiting and money laundering.
Ban and Rice agreed to meet for their next regular strategic session in Seoul in the second half of the year.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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