Bill Clinton: “Let me welcome President and Mrs. Kim, the members of the delegation from the Republic of Korea. To all of our…”

“Let me welcome President and Mrs. Kim, the members of the delegation from the Republic of Korea. To all of our distinguished guests, Hillary and I are delighted to have you here in the White House. I have especially enjoyed this day that I have spent with President Kim, a man whose extraordinary resilience is matched only by his commitment to democracy. Mr. President, this is our fourth meeting. And if you'll permit me just a personal note, I am struck by how much we have in common. We were both elected to office at an early age. You won a seat in your National Assembly when you were just 25. You entered the Blue House just a month after I came to the White House. Or to put it in another way, we have both spent the past 20,000 hours or so dealing with our respective Congresses and fielding hard questions from the press. [Laughter] I'm happy to say that President Kim is also an enthusiastic jogger who permitted me to jog with him in Korea. And even in this heat, Mr. President, after this meal, we may have to run an extra mile together tomorrow. [Laughter] Mr. President, for all the things we have in common, I must also comment on something that sets you apart from most other leaders in the world today, and that is the extraordinary hardship you endured and the courage you displayed to bring democracy to your country. Your many years in opposition were marked by jail terms, years of house arrest, an assassination attempt, and a 23-day hunger strike that almost took your life.…”