By Ahn Ho-young
On the eve of the summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden on May 21, I submitted through this column three points Yoon should focus on during the upcoming summit. I suggested that Yoon focus on the common values underlying the alliance. I also suggested that the two presidents must have substantial discussions on how to deal with North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and missiles as well as worrisome changes in its nuclear doctrine. I then suggested that they fully address the issues related to economic security.
I followed the summit closely and read the joint statement between the two presidents several times. I was encouraged that all the three points were taken up by the two presidents thoroughly and thoughtfully. In particular, I was impressed with the weight the two leaders placed upon the values underlying our alliance. That is what I got from Foreign Minister Park Jin's post-summit debriefing and my reading of the joint statement. The code word for the values underlying our alliance I found in the joint statement was the "Rules-Based International Order (RBIO)." The statement referred to the RBIO no less than five times.
I think there have been three major junctures in Korea-U.S. relations after World War II. The first juncture was the Korean War and the Mutual Defense Treaty that was concluded in 1953. Korea at the time chose as the underlying values for the new republic ― liberal democracy, a market economy, human rights and the rule of law ― the core elements constituting the RBIO. The choice enabled Korea to develop its economy and democratic institutions.
The second juncture was the end of the Cold War around 1990. This literally tectonic change in the international system allowed the RBIO to spread to all corners of the world, changing the world into what author Thomas Friedman referred to as "the flat world." This enabled Korea to normalize its relations with the former communist countries, take full advantage of the so-called flat world to further develop its economy and increase its voice in the international community.
The third juncture is what we are living through at this very time. The RBIO, which allowed Korea to catapult itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to one of the major voices in the international community, is being challenged in many parts of the world, as is painfully demonstrated through the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The third juncture is bringing confusion and divisiveness to Korean society as to where the country must stand in the middle of this juncture where many of the things we took for granted are being challenged and changing.
Some people think that the reason why the RBIO is challenged in the first place is that Pax Americana is coming to an end. We must spread our eggs instead of holding too tightly to the Korea-U.S. alliance.
In my mind, it is much too early to bet on the end of Pax Americana. Let's take the U.S. economy as an example. We understand as a general rule the inverse relationship between the size and the advanced level of an economy and its growth rate. The U.S. economy is the biggest and most advanced in the world. Still, it continues to surpass all other advanced economies in its economic vitality. It seems to come from the unique history and culture of the U.S. which encourages a free spirit and innovations in science, technology, financing and new business models.
Furthermore, were it to be true that the U.S.' power is in relative decline, it does not constitute a reason to turn away from the alliance, but all the more reason to further diversify and deepen the alliance so that Korea, commensurate with its enhanced national capability, can cooperate with the U.S. and other like-minded countries to maintain and strengthen the RBIO. It is because the values constituting the RBIO have become Korea's own values, which we cannot and must not be deprived of.
Yoon, meeting with Biden 11 days into his presidency, laid a clear marker as to where Korea should be going as we grapple with the challenges to the RBIO. The new government is showing impressive agility in implementing the ideas set out in the Joint Statement. Combined military exercises with the U.S., which have been stalled for the past five years, have already been resumed. Trilateral consultations among Korea, the U.S. and Japan at various levels have already taken place, or are being planned. Key advisors to Yoon are planning a trip to Washington, D.C. in order to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation for Korea's space programs.
The clear vision set out by Yoon and the deftly started implementation led me to believe that Korea and the U.S. are well-placed to overcome the challenges and thrive in the third juncture as we have done in the first and second junctures in Korea-U.S. relations.
Ahn Ho-young (hyahn78@mofa.or. of kr) is president the University of North Korean Studies. He served as Korean ambassador to the United States and first vice foreign minister.
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I followed the summit closely and read the joint statement between the two presidents several times. I was encouraged that all the three points were taken up by the two presidents thoroughly and thoughtfully. In particular, I was impressed with the weight the two leaders placed upon the values underlying our alliance. That is what I got from Foreign Minister Park Jin's post-summit debriefing and my reading of the joint statement. The code word for the values underlying our alliance I found in the joint statement was the "Rules-Based International Order (RBIO)." The statement referred to the RBIO no less than five times.
I think there have been three major junctures in Korea-U.S. relations after World War II. The first juncture was the Korean War and the Mutual Defense Treaty that was concluded in 1953. Korea at the time chose as the underlying values for the new republic ― liberal democracy, a market economy, human rights and the rule of law ― the core elements constituting the RBIO. The choice enabled Korea to develop its economy and democratic institutions.
The second juncture was the end of the Cold War around 1990. This literally tectonic change in the international system allowed the RBIO to spread to all corners of the world, changing the world into what author Thomas Friedman referred to as "the flat world." This enabled Korea to normalize its relations with the former communist countries, take full advantage of the so-called flat world to further develop its economy and increase its voice in the international community.
The third juncture is what we are living through at this very time. The RBIO, which allowed Korea to catapult itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to one of the major voices in the international community, is being challenged in many parts of the world, as is painfully demonstrated through the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The third juncture is bringing confusion and divisiveness to Korean society as to where the country must stand in the middle of this juncture where many of the things we took for granted are being challenged and changing.
Some people think that the reason why the RBIO is challenged in the first place is that Pax Americana is coming to an end. We must spread our eggs instead of holding too tightly to the Korea-U.S. alliance.
In my mind, it is much too early to bet on the end of Pax Americana. Let's take the U.S. economy as an example. We understand as a general rule the inverse relationship between the size and the advanced level of an economy and its growth rate. The U.S. economy is the biggest and most advanced in the world. Still, it continues to surpass all other advanced economies in its economic vitality. It seems to come from the unique history and culture of the U.S. which encourages a free spirit and innovations in science, technology, financing and new business models.
Furthermore, were it to be true that the U.S.' power is in relative decline, it does not constitute a reason to turn away from the alliance, but all the more reason to further diversify and deepen the alliance so that Korea, commensurate with its enhanced national capability, can cooperate with the U.S. and other like-minded countries to maintain and strengthen the RBIO. It is because the values constituting the RBIO have become Korea's own values, which we cannot and must not be deprived of.
Yoon, meeting with Biden 11 days into his presidency, laid a clear marker as to where Korea should be going as we grapple with the challenges to the RBIO. The new government is showing impressive agility in implementing the ideas set out in the Joint Statement. Combined military exercises with the U.S., which have been stalled for the past five years, have already been resumed. Trilateral consultations among Korea, the U.S. and Japan at various levels have already taken place, or are being planned. Key advisors to Yoon are planning a trip to Washington, D.C. in order to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation for Korea's space programs.
The clear vision set out by Yoon and the deftly started implementation led me to believe that Korea and the U.S. are well-placed to overcome the challenges and thrive in the third juncture as we have done in the first and second junctures in Korea-U.S. relations.
Ahn Ho-young (hyahn78@mofa.or. of kr) is president the University of North Korean Studies. He served as Korean ambassador to the United States and first vice foreign minister.
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