Bill Clinton: “Korea in Seoul November 21, 1998 President Kim. Good afternoon. I wholeheartedly welcome President Clinton's visit…”

“Korea in Seoul November 21, 1998 President Kim. Good afternoon. I wholeheartedly welcome President Clinton's visit today, which marks his third visit during his term in office. The fact that in the first year of the new government in Korea we have had an exchange of summit meetings demonstrates to our peoples and the rest of the world the solidity of the alliance that binds our two countries. We, the two heads of state, as we had agreed during the summit meeting in June in Washington, have decided to take the Korea-U.S. relationship to a higher level of partnership into the 21st century based on our shared treasured values of democracy and market economy. Through my second summit meeting with President Clinton after my inauguration, I have had a broad and indepth consultation with President Clinton on the political situation on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, the East Asian economic crisis, and regional and global issues of common interest. In particular, our consultation focused primarily on the following four areas: First, we agreed that the security alliance between the two countries must stand firm and solid. President Clinton reaffirmed the unwavering security commitment of the U.S. toward the Republic of Korea, and we, the two heads of state, agreed that his visit has provided an opportunity to further strengthen the close security alliance.…”