[EAI Online Seminar] After Trump Series 2: New Horizons for ROK-U.S. Cooperation Amidst U.S.-China Competition

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU3cdaWzCOQ

On Friday, November 13, 2020, the East Asia Institute (EAI) held an online seminar, "Prospects for U.S.-South Korea Cooperation in an Era of U.S.-China Strategic Competition," in collaboration with the Brookings Institution. This seminar, the second in the [After Trump] series, discussed ROK-U.S. cooperation regarding China, the impact of ROK-U.S. cooperation across various sectors, and an agenda for ROK-U.S. cooperation in shaping a new Asia-Pacific order.

Program

f2e34dd1a320d063

f2e34dd1a320d063

f2e34dd1a320d063

Keynote Speech

Session 1: Politics and Security

Session 2: Trade, Energy, and Environment

※ The following is an excerpt. Please refer to the attached file above for the full content.

Session 1: Political and Security Issues

Defending Regional Democracy Through the ROK-U.S. Alliance

Marc Knapper, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State: The scope of ROK-U.S. cooperation, which was focused on Korean Peninsula security and the North Korean threat in the 1990s, has expanded today to include trade, investment, health, and environmental sectors. Today, it is more important that countries sharing democratic values and human rights, such as South Korea, the United States, and Japan, take responsibility for speaking out against China through cooperation on issues like human rights in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

Limited Regional Security Cooperation by South Korea Necessitates Contributions on Various Levels Amidst U.S.-China Competition

Lindsey W. Ford, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution: Compared to the extensive cooperation pursued in the Indo-Pacific region, primarily among Quad countries, South Korea has not actively participated in regional security cooperation, focusing for a long time on Korean Peninsula issues. While it is natural for South Korea to prioritize immediate security challenges such as the North Korean nuclear threat, its regional security cooperation remains limited, considering its growing influence and expanding economic cooperation regionally and globally. Based on the 'New Southern Policy' pursued by the Moon Jae-in administration, South Korea can present a more proactive vision for regional peace and security and contribute more to security cooperation within the Indo-Pacific region.

The Unending Issue of North Korean Denuclearization: A Foundation for ROK-U.S. Cooperation or Another Hurdle for the Biden Administration?

Professor Emeritus Ha Young-sun: Since the Hanoi Summit, North Korea has consistently raised objections to the United States, citing various obstacles in denuclearization implementation. Given that North Korea has only conveyed its willingness for partial denuclearization, it is necessary for both the ROK and U.S. governments to prepare a roadmap for complete denuclearization. As a new calculation for denuclearization negotiations between North Korea and the U.S., North Korea strongly advocates a three-stage denuclearization strategy, which includes: 1) unilateral confidence-building measures, 2) partial reduction of nuclear weapons excluding minimal deterrent capabilities, gradual sanctions relief, and the commencement of peace-building on the Korean Peninsula, and finally, 3) complete security guarantees contingent upon the U.S. abandoning its hostile policy toward North Korea.

Biden's New America and the Future of the ROK-U.S. Alliance

Professor Lee Sook-jong: Based on the results of the Korean Identity Survey conducted by the East Asia Institute from 2005 to 2020, public support for the ROK-U.S. alliance has shown a strengthening trend since the mid-2000s. Over the past 15 years, support for the ROK-U.S. alliance has increased by 17.6%, and the base of support for the alliance has solidified regardless of ideology or political orientation.

Session 2: Trade, Energy, and Environmental Issues

A Proper Balance Must Be Struck Between National Security and Economic Interdependence: Excessive Economic Regulations Under the Guise of National Security Should Be Avoided

Director Son Yeol, East Asia Institute: South Korea faces the complex challenge of maintaining high economic dependence on China and requesting joint responses to North Korean threats, while simultaneously needing to align with the United States for military security and advanced technology acquisition. Amidst U.S.-China strategic competition, South Korea requires tripartite strategic cooperation with the United States on various issues arising from complex interdependence. First, the challenge of balancing national security and economic issues. This involves establishing norms to prevent economic sanctions imposed under the pretext of national security, such as China's THAAD retaliation, Japan's export restrictions, and U.S. tariffs under Section 232. Second, addressing economic issues like China's non-tariff barriers and unfair trade practices not through bilateral negotiations between the U.S. and China, but through international cooperation and multilateral responses. Third, the challenge for the Biden administration to return to multilateralism, including rejoining the TPP, and for the Moon Jae-in administration to shift its policy from the existing bilateralism centered on bilateral FTAs to multilateral cooperation.

ROK-U.S. Cooperation on the China Challenge

Senior Fellow David Dollar: China's trade practices, which deviate from international norms, are causing issues such as the spread of protectionism, intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement, and R&D subsidies for specific technologies. Nevertheless, a complete decoupling of the U.S. economy from China is unrealistic due to the substantial associated costs, which could also be transferred to allies in the Asia-Pacific region, including South Korea. Furthermore, decoupling is difficult for other Asian countries, including South Korea, to accept. Rather than complete decoupling, a coordinated response with partner countries like South Korea is necessary to change China's practices on specific issues.

Biden Administration's New America: Is a Return to the TPP Possible?

Director Son Yeol: South Korea and the United States must set an example in upholding a rules-based international order. In this regard, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) or the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) represents the optimal scenario. The U.S.'s re-entry into the TPP would serve as a powerful signal, reaffirming its commitment to the region to allies and partners, and signaling its return to global leadership. It would also be more effective than unilateral measures in establishing a desirable order to deter China's predatory behavior. While the Biden administration may not prioritize rejoining the CPTPP, the possibility of dialogue remains open, potentially through amending certain 'problematic' aspects of the agreement and rejoining if conditions are met.

Frozen U.S.-China Cooperation: A Breakthrough in Energy Cooperation

Fellow Samantha Gross, Brookings Institution: Energy, particularly liquefied natural gas (LNG), represents an area where the strategic interests of the U.S., China, and South Korea align more than in traditional areas of cooperation such as economy and security. Therefore, improving U.S.-China relations through energy cooperation can be considered. For the U.S., China and South Korea are the second and third largest importers of LNG globally, respectively. Simultaneously, for South Korea and China, which are pursuing decarbonization policies and anticipate continued growth in LNG demand, LNG is attractive in terms of both cost and diversification of import sources.

Caution is Needed Regarding Empty Promises of Carbon Emission Reductions

Senior Fellow Jeffrey Ball, Brookings Institution: While leaders in various countries, including South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Japan, China, and Europe, have pledged to reduce carbon emissions, what is more crucial is the establishment of geopolitical strategies and economic incentives for the practical implementation of these pledges. Particularly, given these countries' substantial investments in coal infrastructure projects in developing nations, global implementation beyond domestic efforts is necessary. Furthermore, sufficient economic incentives must be provided to market participants, including corporations, for the transition to clean energy sectors.

■ Bae Young-ja_ Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Konkuk University. She graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Diplomacy and earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina. Her main research areas include international political economy, political economy of foreign investment, science and technology and international politics, the internet and international politics, and science and technology diplomacy. Her major works include "Networks and National Strategy" (2015, co-authored), "North Korea in the World Through Networks" (2015, co-authored), and "Middle Power Public Diplomacy" (2013, edited).

■ Son Yeol_ Director, East Asia Institute; Professor, Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago. He previously taught at Chung-Ang University before becoming a professor at Yonsei University's Graduate School of International Studies. He currently serves as the Director of the East Asia Institute (EAI). He has held positions such as Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies, Head of the Underwood International College, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development, and Director of the Institute for International Studies at Yonsei University. He was also a Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo, a Visiting Scholar at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), and a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. He served as President of the Korean Political Science Association (2019) and President of the Association for Japanese Studies (2012). He has been a Fulbright Scholar, a MacArthur Fellow, a Japan Foundation Fellow, and a Senior Fellow at the Advanced Research Center of Waseda University. He has served as an advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, the Northeast Asian History Foundation, and the Korea Foundation, and was a specialist committee member of the Committee for the Northeast Asian Era. He is currently a member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Self-Evaluation Committee. His areas of expertise include Japanese foreign policy, international political economy, East Asian international politics, and public diplomacy. His recent publications include "Japan and Asia's Contested Order" (2019, with T. J. Pempel), "Understanding Public Diplomacy in East Asia" (2016, with Jan Melissen), "South Korea under US-China Rivalry: the Dynamics of the Economic-Security Nexus in the Trade Policymaking," The Pacific Review (2019), 32, 6, and "South Korea's Middle Power Diplomacy" (2017, co-edited).

■ Lee Sook-jong_ Senior Fellow and Director, East Asia Institute; Professor, Sungkyunkwan University. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Harvard University. She has held positions as a Research Fellow at the Sejong Institute, a Visiting Scholar at the Brookings Institution, an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University, President of the Association for Japanese Studies, a Policy Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Director of the East Asia Institute. Her recent edited volumes include "Transforming Global Governance with Middle Power Diplomacy: South Korea’s Role in the 21st Century" (edited), "Public Diplomacy and Soft Power in East Asia" (co-edited), "The Second Act of Globalization: Korean-Style Globalization and New Initiatives" (co-edited), and "Conditions for Presidential Success in 2017" (co-edited).

■ Lee Wang-hui_ Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Ajou University. He earned his Ph.D. in International Politics from the London School of Economics. His primary research interests include international political economy and the relationship between corporations and states. His co-authored works include "The Belt and Road Initiative: China and Asia" (2016), "East Asian Regional Governance and Transnational Cooperation" (2019), and "Research on Measures for South-North-China Economic Cooperation" (forthcoming). His major articles include "The Geopolitics of the Belt and Road Initiative: Sino-Russian Cooperation vs. Alliance with Russia to Counter China" (National Security and Strategy, 2017), "The Political Economy of Fintech: Competition Between the U.S. and China" (National Strategy, 2018), and "U.S.-China Trade War: Resistance to Protectionism within the U.S. and China's Lobbying Efforts Against the U.S." (National Security and Strategy, 2018).

■ Chun Jae-sung_ Director, Center for National Security Studies, East Asia Institute; Professor, Seoul National University. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Northwestern University and has served as a policy advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Unification. His main research areas include international political theory, international relations history, the ROK-U.S. alliance, and Korean Peninsula studies. His major works include "Sovereignty and International Politics: The Imperial Character of the Modern Sovereign State System," "East Asian International Politics: Among States with Incomplete Sovereignty," "Is Politics Moral?: Reinhold Niebuhr's Transcendent International Political Thought," "Is Politics Moral?," and "East Asian International Politics: From History to Theory."

■ Ha Young-sun_ Chairman, East Asia Institute; Professor Emeritus, Seoul National University. He served as a senior advisor to the Preparatory Committee for Inter-Korean Summit and as a member of the Presidential National Security Advisory Council. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in Diplomacy from Seoul National University and his Ph.D. in International Politics from the University of Washington. He was a professor in the Department of Diplomacy at Seoul National University (1980-2012) and held visiting scholar positions at Princeton University's Center for International Studies and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. His recent works include "The Geopolitics of Love: War and Peace" (2019), "A Correct View of Korean Diplomatic History: Tradition and Modernity" (2019), "The Competition to Build the Asia-Pacific Order between the U.S. and China" (2017), "The Korean Peninsula and the Four Major Powers in 1972 and 2014" (2015), "Ha Young-sun's International Politics Columns 1991-2011" (2012), "Complex World Politics Theory" (2012), and "North Korea 2032: A Co-evolutionary Strategy Towards Advancement."

■ Jeffrey Ball_ Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution. He is a graduate of Yale University, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Yale Daily News. He worked as an energy and environment columnist, reporter, and editor for The Wall Street Journal. In 2015, he received the Society of American Business Editors and Writers' Top Energy-Writing Prize for his reporting on Mexico's energy reform for Fortune magazine. As a panelist on The Wall Street Journal's "The Experts," he contributed commentary on energy issues to WSJ.com and has given numerous lectures on energy and the environment as a Visiting Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. In 2017, he was an author of "The New Solar System," a Stanford University report that proposed ways to harness solar energy to significantly reduce global carbon emissions. He currently leads a project at the Stanford Center for a Global Energy Transformation, a joint initiative of Stanford Law School and the Graduate School of Business, evaluating the comparative advantages of globalizing clean energy businesses. As a first step, he is developing strategies for China and the United States to leverage their respective strengths for more economical and efficient clean energy utilization.

■ David Dollar_ Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution. He holds a bachelor's degree in Chinese history and language from Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. in Economics from New York University. An expert on the Chinese economy and U.S.-China relations, he served as the U.S. Treasury Department's Economic and Financial Envoy based in Beijing from 2009 to 2013, leading discussions on macroeconomic and financial policies between the U.S. and China. Prior to joining the Treasury Department, he worked at the World Bank for 20 years, serving as Country Director for China and Mongolia, and also worked in the World Bank's research department, focusing on Asian economies including South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and India. He taught economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, and his publications focus on China's economic reforms, globalization, and economic growth.

■ Lindsey W. Ford_ Fellow, Brookings Institution. She holds a master's degree in Public Affairs and Asian Studies from the University of Texas-Austin. Her primary research areas include U.S. defense strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on U.S. security alliances, military posture, and regional security architecture. Her analyses have been featured in various media outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Politico, Foreign Policy, The Straits Times, CNN, and Bloomberg. She served as a Richard Holbrooke Fellow and Director of Political Security at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI). From 2009 to 2015, she held various roles within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, including Special Assistant to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel for the 2014 U.S.-ASEAN Defense Forum. She served as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, where she managed a team advising on maritime security, multilateral security issues, and force management planning. She was a lead architect of the Department of Defense's 2012 "Asia Pivot" policy and oversaw the development of the DoD's first "Asia-Pacific Maritime Security Strategy" in 2015. She has also served on advisory boards for the Center for a New American Security and the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and has received two Department of Defense medals.

■ Samantha Gross_ Fellow, Brookings Institution. She holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois, a master's degree in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley. Her primary research areas are energy and environmental policy, with a particular focus on climate policy and international cooperation, energy efficiency, oil and natural gas development, and the energy-water nexus. As a Visiting Fellow, she conducted research on clean energy cooperation and the Paris Climate Agreement at the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center and served as the Head of Integrated Research at IHS CERA. She previously served as Director of the Office of International Climate and Clean Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy and worked in the Natural Resources and Environment team at the U.S. Government Accountability Office. She also has experience as an engineer leading environmental assessment and remediation projects.

■ Jung H. Park_ Korea Chair, Brookings Institution. She holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Her primary research areas include security challenges facing the United States and East Asia, such as North Korea's weapons of mass destruction (WMD), North Korea's domestic and foreign policies, ROK-U.S. relations, and inter-Korean relations. She also convenes interdisciplinary forums to strengthen regional cooperation on counterterrorism, nuclear non-proliferation, cybersecurity, and climate change. As an expert specializing in East Asian political and security issues, she has lectured at Hunter College in New York and studied in Korea as a Fulbright Scholar. She subsequently held various senior positions within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), including Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analysis from 2014 to 2016. She represented the Intelligence Community (IC) at White House policy meetings and, as a senior analyst, produced hundreds of intelligence assessments, including the President's daily brief. Her book is "Becoming Kim Jong Un: A Former CIA Officer’s Insights into North Korea’s Enigmatic Young Dictator." She has appeared on "Face the Nation," "The Week with George Stephanopoulos," and "PBS NewsHour," and her analyses have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Politico, CNN, Fox News, and The Atlantic.

■ Jonathan D. Pollack_ Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution. He served as Director of the John L. Thornton China Center from 2012 to 2014. Prior to joining Brookings in 2010, he was a Professor of Asian Studies and Chairman of the Strategic Research Department at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He has also taught at Brandeis University, the RAND Graduate School, and the University of California, Los Angeles. His primary research areas include China's national security strategy, U.S.-China relations, U.S. strategy in the Asia-Pacific, South Korean foreign policy, Asian international politics, nuclear weapons, and international security. He is currently an honorary member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and the Committee on International Security and Arms Control, a standing committee of the National Academy of Sciences. His major books include "Strategic Surprise? U.S.-China Relations in the Early 21st Century," "Korea-The East Asian Pivot," and "Asia Eyes America: Regional Perspectives on U.S. Asia-Pacific Strategy in the 21st Century." His work "No Exit: North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, and International Security," published by Routledge in 2011, was released in a revised Korean edition by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in 2012. His most recent research, "Endangered Order: Revisionism and Strategic Risk in Northeast Asia," forthcoming, focuses on the strategic ambitions and concerns of leaders in China, Japan, South Korea, and North Korea, and their implications and consequences for the future regional order.

■ Mireya Solis_ Director, Center for East Asia Policy Studies, and Japan Chair, Brookings Institution. She holds a bachelor's degree in International Relations from El Colegio de México and a Ph.D. in East Asian Studies and Political Science from Harvard University. She is an expert in Japanese foreign economic policy, U.S.-Japan relations, international trade policy, and Asia-Pacific economic integration. She previously held a professorship at the School of International Service at American University. Her major books include "Banking on Multinationals: Public Credit and the Export of Japanese Sunset Industries," "Cross-Regional Trade Agreements: Understanding Permeated Regionalism in East Asia" (co-authored), and "Competitive Regionalism: FTA Diffusion in the Pacific Rim." Her recent book, "Dilemmas of a Trading Nation," which offers a novel analysis of trade policymaking in Japan and the United States, received the 2018 Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Award. Her expert commentary has been featured in The New York Times, Financial Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Politico, The New Yorker, Nikkei, Kyodo News, Asahi Shimbun, Jiji Press, Japan Times, NHK World, Bloomberg, CNN, and BBC.

Video Script

Welcome everyone. I am Mireya Solis, Director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. Welcome to today's webinar, "Prospects for U.S.-South Korea Cooperation in the Era of U.S.-China Strategic Competition." We are delighted that this program is a collaboration with the East Asia Institute, one that we started planning back in May of 2019 and has been very meaningful. All panelists have drafted papers that will guide today's discussions and will be published soon by the East Asia Institute.

The topic that gathers us today is of great consequence. How will U.S.-China's strategic competition shape the region? What are the best avenues for the United States and South Korea to cooperate in meeting the China challenge and ensuring regional stability and prosperity? What are the range of objectives, trials, and opportunities in energizing U.S.-South Korea cooperation across different domains such as security, trade and technology, energy, and environment? We are honored to have Deputy Assistant Secretary

for Korea and Japan, Mark Napper, deliver the keynote. Mark Napper needs no introduction, but let me just highlight a few elements of his very distinguished career. Since August of 2018, Mark Napper has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Korea and Japan. And before that, he served with distinction in the U.S. Embassy in South Korea as Chargé d'Affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission. Deputy Assistant Secretary Napper has twice worked in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as the State Department representative to the spent

fuel team at the Yongbyon nuclear facility and as part of the advance team for then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's trip to Pyongyang. Mark Napper is a recipient of a number of awards from the U.S. Department of State, including the Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award, the nation's highest diplomatic honor. Following Deputy Assistant Secretary Napper's remarks, we will take questions from the viewers. You can submit questions by email to events@brookings.edu or via Twitter to @BrookingsFP using the hashtag

usrok we'll also take questions during the panel discussion so please feel free to join this conversation and send you your questions we're very much looking forward to that and with that i would like to uh give the floor to deputy assistant secretary mark knapper yeah thank you so much uh you know i always get really embarrassed uh with these kind of full and and uh genuine introductions i almost wish as they say like if my my father were here he would have smiled uh my mother would have believed it but i i do really

appreciate that and thank you um and it's great to be here um uh i'm actually in seoul right now so it's i guess oddly appropriate that i should be speaking about these these issues while i'm here uh but i'm really grateful uh to maria and brookings and eai for for inviting me to speak today and so i guess i'll speak a little bit um you know the subject today is about the the u.s korea relationship and like how it how it works in the the context or against the background of of the china challenge and

you know i'm just thinking uh when i first came to korea when i first served in seoul in 1993 27 years ago uh the u.s korea alliance the u.s korea relationship was very much uh about uh the peninsula it was very limited to the peninsula it was very limited to uh the the the you know the constant threat from the north and it was uh it was a relationship that had very little to do in terms of trade very little to do in terms of investment or you know all these kind of other things that we take for granted today so

so we you know we we focused on on the threat from the north and and the security ties so let's let's fast forward so that was 93 and let's fast forward to now um you know the us korea relationship now is as broad and as deep as we could ever hope for an alliance relationship anywhere in the world i mean the u.s korea alliance um of course we still have our security ties but look i mean the uh trade ties uh you know korea is the 11th largest economy in the world uh korea is the sixth largest trading partner of the united states

korea is uh one of the fastest growing investors in the united states and you know in places in the south in the midwest places like georgia alabama if you look at hyundai motors for example is a huge investment in alabama sk huge investment in in georgia lotte big investment in louisiana samsung and and austin texas etc so my my point is i mean this is a relationship that has gone from just one that's limited to to the peninsula to one that is is global one that is building ties uh creating jobs

uh for you know good jobs for the american people and so uh we're very proud of this and and it goes beyond this it goes beyond trade and investment to science and technology and health cooperation health cooperation of course we talk about that we talk about covet of course this is something that uh you know we we wouldn't guess this a few years ago when uh for example ebola broke out in west africa 2014 united states sent doctors to west africa and we we asked for help who put their hands up korea

and korea put their hands up 2014 sent doctors to sierra leone uh 2015 we had the mayor's outbreak in in korea and the united states and korea together uh worked to to to deal with this outbreak uh and now together in covit copen19 the united states are working together again and this is just one example of the kind of work that our two countries are doing together we build uh muscle memory you know when you play golf you you hit the golf level it's like you you every time you hit the golf club you you build this ability to

work together and and this is something we in korea do together every day we've done it and now that we have this this this covet virus we're working together again and it's it's just a terrific example of the kind of work that the us and korea do together every day and um as we as we move forward i i think um something that i talk about i've talked about it here stuff in korea i mean uh we our values our shared values values about democracy values about religious freedom freedom of assembly freedom

of the press i mean these are things that are precious things are things that the u.s and the republic of korea and japan taiwan we all enjoy and frankly uh they're under threat they're under threat and to the extent that we and korea and japan can work together to defend these values i think really speaks uh to our three countries our four countries ability to to really uh defend the values that we have and so when the united states talks about uh the relationship between the u.s japan the north korea i think we

we really do mean it's it's not just about uh practical issues like like usomia for example but it's it's it's real issues involving the values that we share the practical sort of things that we all together have so um i really sincerely hope that when we do work together that we we think about this and i think this gets to the bigger issue of today's uh seminar of china and so when we talk about china uh the challenge of china i think it's all clear that you know we know that that japan and so in south korea have very complex

and nuanced relationships with with china we get it but at the same time i think we all should be able to stand up um and speak out uh when we see uh you know bad behavior from china and i think regardless the fact that that uh there are very important trading relationships and others we get it we're not asking south korea we're not asking japan to to cut off or contain china but at the same time i think the countries like south korea that have benefited from the international community uh speaking out on behalf of democracy i

think it's important that when it comes to uh speaking out about xinjiang taiwan hong kong i think we we we hope and expect that korea japan others will stand up and speak out on behalf of these things and so um i know that yeah later on i mean we're going to talk about china and the role of china and the role of our alliances in dealing with china but i really do think that it's responsibility of countries like the united states countries like south korea countries like japan to to accept the responsibility

of speaking out on behalf of democracy speaking out on behalf of freedom because if we don't who will and so it's our it's our job i think to do this and so we'll we'll continue to push on this we'll continue to press for uh us and our fellow democracies do this and so uh i'll certainly count on our friends in korea our friends in japan too to take up this this important task thank you sorry i've been in so many zoom calls you would imagine i got this down by now but obviously i still do not um i was just

saying uh thank you very much uh mark for those very insightful uh remarks i appreciate very much uh your comments about alliances that um have broadened now that you know with the trade integration investment and also uh that are based on shared values and that it's important at this moment in time to take a stand on very serious issues that uh emerge and to call out china where there's a need for that um i would like to then take the opportunity and ask you um a question or two just to remind our viewers that if you

have uh questions please send them to me via email events at brookings.edu or via twitter at brookingsfp using the hashtag usrok so let me then ask you the first question and really brings the china factor more front and center you know as u.s and china are now locked in strategic competition and a lot of these now plays out in the economic sphere there are concerns about a potential decoupling there are concerns about seeing a two separate digital ecosystems emerge and this is of course a concern for many countries but

especially those that have advanced high-tech sectors advanced manufacturing and certainly south korea is such a country given the lead that south korean companies play in semiconductor manufacturer for example so my question uh to you mark is in your view what is the best way to strike the balance between addressing those cyber security critical technology leakage concerns but not unwinding very robust links of economic interdependence that have generated a lot of innovation a lot of prosperity

and if i may add to that the state department a few months ago launched the clean network initiative with the idea to develop ties with trusted suppliers and not have the participation of chinese companies that represent a cyber security risk my question uh to you mark then is what has been the reaction in the region to this initiative especially from the rok but other countries as well okay uh thank you maria um no those are excellent questions excellent things to explore look i think when we talk about

as we talk about clean networks clean path we talk about 5g i mean these are all things that our government has been working very closely with governments in the region japan korea others taiwan southeast asia and really i mean the goal is to ensure that that our data that our citizens private information that our government's national security data is is protected are are protected and so uh i think it's um really imperative for all of us to to be able to work together to ensure that uh that whether it's

individuals privacy whether it's government uh secure information or are able to be protected and so i don't think it's it's asking too much for us to be able to work with governments in the region whether it's japan or korea other places taiwan southeast asia really to take a hard look at our networks and the networks that are you know providing the the back and forth for the information that makes our lives you know whether it's financial information or other information but um certainly i think it's it's it's safe

to say that uh this is something that when we talk about 5g when we talk about work we do around the world i mean there's no question that there are very nuanced relationships uh whether it's the united states korea japan and it's it's something that we have very very intense and close uh conversations with but um i think our ultimate goal and i think a goal that we share with our friends and our allies in places like japan and korea is that look ultimately we want to protect the data of our citizens we want to protect the

information of our governments and so i don't think it's too much to ask that we take a hard look at what we're doing and what are various i.t companies and what our various communication infrastructures are doing with potential potentially vulnerable companies or as we say uh you know vulnerable vendors like like like huawei like cte thank you uh thank you so much for that uh question and that's an issue that we expect we're going to discuss a greater length in the second panel of today's conference so you got us to a great

start thank you for that and i want to shift gears a little bit and ask you another question because i think that you have really unique insight in into u.s relations with both south korea and japan now we know that this has been a bilateral relationship that recently has deteriorated there's been an increase in uh friction and um you know i think that ideally the goal of the united states has been to facilitate trilateral uh cooperation and when the u.s i'm sorry the rok japan relationships offers

obviously it's harder to accomplish that um in your mind um what can be done from the u.s point of view to try to improve uh u.s i'm sorry japan south korea relations so i get asked this question a lot and a couple years ago when people ask me sort of how much time i spend on japan how much time i spend on korea i would say yeah you know of course 50 50 right 50 on japan 50 in korea these days when people ask me that question i say well you know 20 percent korea 20 japan and 60 japan korea so i say that meaning

that um to the united states the japan korea relationship is is critical importance and when we say and we do say that we don't take sides we don't mediate we don't get in the middle we don't try to it arbitrate mean we don't care it doesn't mean we're not interested the japan korea japan south korea relationship is of critical importance to the united states because getting back to what i said before these are two democracies liberal transparent countries that that do the kind of work that we do in the united states if we

our three countries don't stand up for democracy if we don't stand up for freedom then who will and so we have to figure out a way to get along and and so the united states we don't presume to find a way to to get in the middle or to mediate this is up to japan and korea do um same time though it does not mean that we don't care it does not mean that we're not interested we are we do care we are interested and and very often we do things that aren't apparent to the press we do things that aren't apparent

to the public but nonetheless we are working very hard with our allies with our friends in tokyo and seoul to try and find a way to to move our three countries forward because we have to and we understand i mean history issues are sensitive um heaven knows in the united states you know we we have our own history issues and you know we we we deal with it every day and so it's not for us to presume to speak about uh history issues between japan and korea but at the same time i think it's fair to hope

that between south korea and japan that they can address these issues in a way that promotes reconciliation and promotes a path to a brighter future a path to a future that involves productive and constructive relations between not just seoul and tokyo but seoul tokyo washington among all of us because we have to i mean if you look at the region it's just you know our countries share these values and are you know we shared democracy and and freedom of of speech and religion and things that are under threat

these things under threat if we don't stand up for it who will and so we we really have to figure things out so that's why i hope uh going forward that we're going to figure these things out and we will find a way for our three countries to build a better a better relationship thank you mark for those comments and i have one final question for you um as i mentioned when i introduced you um you served with distinction in the u.s embassy in south korea at a time when there was a lot of tension in the peninsula

because of the provocations of the north korean regime if i remember correctly we used to refer to those days as the fire and fury days and after that there were a couple of meetings between president trump and kim jong-un so given all that you know about the evolution of u.s north korea relations can you talk about what the u.s and south korea can do at this moment in time in dealing with these uh threats coming from north korea well thanks for i mean you were you were you're right i mean that was uh

2017 was a really uh pretty stressful time for those of us who were who were living there we had uh the sixth nuclear test we had a couple of icbm launches and for sure it uh it was a time of great tension on the peninsula but you know i think u.s diplomacy in particular leader level diplomacy between you know president trump and kim jong-un helped to help to lower lower the tension and hopefully set the stage for for future progress um but you know obviously in the past you know few weeks months years there

hasn't been much and regardless though you know our message our public message and in private frankly is that the door to diplomacy remains open the door to finding way forward remains open and you know we firmly believe uh if you go back to the singapore statement from uh from 2017 the statement that between the united states and north korea about transforming the u.s north korea relationship between uh you know building a peace regime on the peninsula improving north-south relations uh bringing home the remains of american

soldiers i mean these these are commitments that we made with north korea between our two leaders and this is a you know a spirit that we we still hope to to to to implement and so and that where we are today i mean i can't speak about what's going to happen in a couple months but at this moment today we still sincerely hope to be able to implement and actualize the spirit of the singapore statement to the point where you know to to transform our relation to denuclearize to bring a better and brighter future to to the people of

north korea thank you so much mark again for joining us for starting us to a great uh discussion throughout the morning i think your last a set of remarks actually provide the perfect segue into panel one which will be moderated by my colleague jun pak the sk korea foundation chair in korea studies so i want to thank you again and then turn things over to john thank you so much