By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan made it clear that South Korea will not accept any changes to the free trade agreement (FTA) signed with the United States.
Instead, he said, the government is willing to give a full explanation if the traditional ally has worries regarding the trade deal.
"If Washington details what worries it has about the FTA, we will review them and actively provide an explanation," the nation's top diplomat said in an interview to mark the 59th anniversary of The Korea Times.
The trade pact, signed between the two countries about two years ago, has yet to come into effect, over which Yu expressed regret.
After the two sides inked the agreement, voices of dissent grew louder over concern that the nation's small- and medium-sized businesses, and farmers may experience great losses.
A National Assembly committee managed to pass a motion to ratify the FTA last April and sent it to the main floor for final ratification. But this time, the U.S. Congress raised objection.
U.S. automakers claimed that they may get the short end of the trade deal due to unfair tariff systems.
Wendy Cutler, assistant U.S. trade representative, told a Congressional hearing on Oct. 14: "It's apparent that more can be done and should be done in the automotive sector to help level the playing field for U.S. companies and workers in this important sector."
Saying that the problem has already been settled, Yu indicated that the trade deal is expected to be dealt with in earnest next year.
"The U.S. government and Congress are currently focusing on passing a healthcare reform bill within the year, so it appears that they would begin discussions about pending trade issues, including the KORUS FTA, after that," he said.
South Korea is also eager to promote free trade deals with other countries.
Negotiations are under way for pacts with Peru, Australia, New Zealand and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain.
On Oct. 22, the nation initialed a free trade agreement with the EU, the world's largest market with a population of 500 million and South Korea's second-largest trading partner after China.
The government, however, is taking a cautious approach in signing FTAs with neighboring countries such as Japan and China because of possible influences on the domestic economy.
"We plan to hold the fourth round of preliminary talks at a working-level with Japan later this year," Yu said.
Related ministries will hold the second joint seminar on Nov. 17 to review the future direction of an FTA between the two neighbors.
On the North Korean nuclear issue, Minister Yu stressed that South Korea, as a party concerned, will play a leading role in denuclearizing North Korea through the six-party talks.
"We will continue to take a two-track approach of closely cooperating with other countries and fully implementing U.N. sanctions on North Korea, and opening the door for (an inter-Korean) dialogue," he said.
Casting a skeptical view on the North's recent conciliatory gestures, Yu urged the secretive state to come back to the six-way forum involving the two Koreas, Japan, the United States, China and Russia.
"The five participants share the view that the six-party talks are a useful framework to solve the nuclear issue," he said. "North Korea must immediately return to the table."
As part of efforts to make the reclusive state abandon its nuclear ambitions, President Lee Myung-bak proposed the "grand bargain" deal.
Yu said that it is meaningful that President Lee presented a way to fundamentally resolve the issue and that the members of the six-party talks, except for North Korea, share similar views on the proposal.
The ``grand bargain" calls for offering the isolated state incentives such as security guarantees and economic support in return for complete nuclear dismantlement.
Yu said that the idea has won support from allies, including the United States.
``Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and other senior U.S. officials made it clear that the two countries have built a consensus on the 'grand bargain,''' he said.
South Korea will have more discussions with other countries in order to specify the plan, he added.
On the administration's ``New Asia Initiative,'' the minister said the government is making efforts to strengthen ties with countries in the region.
"In order to get tangible results, the ministry will share experiences in economic and social developments with developing countries in Asia and expand official development assistance (ODA)," he said.
Korea also plans to boost cultural and personnel exchanges and establish cooperative systems to cope with global issues such as the financial crisis and climate change.
Since the diplomatic initiative centers on regional cooperation, members of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) are considered core partners.
"The nation hosted the Korea-ASEAN Commemorative Summit in June and President Lee visited Vietnam and Cambodia in October, which shows our efforts to consolidate substantial cooperative relations with the ASEAN," the minister said.
The government will make continuous efforts to have countries in the region as "partners of prosperity," he added.
The government ambitiously kicked off its so-called resources diplomacy, seeking to secure the energy resources necessary to sustain the country's economic growth.
This vision is, at the same time, aimed at finding opportunities to develop and deepen relationships with energy-rich countries in Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
Unlike its vigorous activities at the initial stage, the government now seems to be pursuing the efforts quietly.
Minister Yu admitted that the government is having difficulty securing resources due to high barriers and strong competitors.
"Projects securing energy and developing resources require a large amount of initial investment and a long payback period, and are considered high-risk investments," he said.
He continued, "The country, as a latecomer to the energy-securing competition, is also struggling because it has to compete with major companies from advanced countries and rising nations having big money, such as China."
Besides, many energy-rich countries are in unstable political situations, and it remains unclear whether they will adhere to a contract, he added.
"Considering everything, energy diplomacy has to be continued under a mid- to long-term plan."