Lee Declares Vision of Unified, Green Korea

President Lee Myung-bak said Friday his government will vigorously push to link the trans-Korean railroad with Russian and Chinese transcontinental rail lines in preparation for the emergence of a unified Korea as the world's logistics hub linking Eurasia and the Pacific Rim in the next 60 years.

In an emotional speech celebrating Liberation Day and national founding anniversaries, Lee urged North Korea to immediately abandon its nuclear weapons and embrace inter-Korean dialogue and economic cooperation to create a unified economic zone on the Korean Peninsula.

"A unified Korea will surely emerge as a gateway to both Eurasia and the Pacific Rim, including the U.S. A cargo train departing from Busan can reach Central Asia and West Europe via transcontinental railways," Lee said in the speech.

"I want to share the dream with all of the 80 million Koreans. I'll never give up the dream of co-prosperity of the two Koreas. To that end, nuclear weapons must disappear from the peninsula," the president said, proposing the resumption of across-the-board dialogue with North Korea.

South Korea has long pushed to connect the trans-Korean railroad with Russia's trans-Siberian railway, trans-Chinese railway and other transcontinental rail lines, seeking to serve as a key transportation link between Europe and the Pacific Rim.

Friday marked the 63rd anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, as well as the 60th founding anniversary of South Korea.

The government of South Korea, formally called the Republic of Korea, was founded on Aug. 15, 1948, exactly three years after Korea's liberation. The nation's first parliament was convened, its constitution was promulgated and its armed forces were also created in the same year.

The two Koreas, divided shortly after the 1945 liberation, are still technically at war, with no peace treaty signed at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Reflecting on the meaning of liberation, Lee renewed his determination to consolidate South Korea's territorial control of Dokdo in the face of Japan's provocative claim to the East Sea islets.

"Korea gained its independence from Japanese suppression 63 years ago. In order not to repeat the tragic history, we must build our national power. Our power buildup will also thwart Japanese territorial provocation," said Lee.

During the ceremony speech given in front of about 20,000 dignitaries and citizens, the president also declared that his administration has selected "low carbon, green growth" as the nation's new vision towards the next 60 years.

Lee stressed that he will promote job creation and overcome challenges from climate change and sky-high oil prices by utilizing green technology and clean energy as new economic growth locomotives.

The president then vowed to enable the nation to achieve another "independence" in the energy sector by lifting its energy self-supply ratio from the current 5 percent to over 50 percent in 2050.

Specifically, he said the South Korean government will increase the portion of new renewable energy in the nation's entire energy consumption from 2.4 percent last year to over 11 percent by 2030. Lee also envisioned South Korea building 1 million "green homes," entirely dependent on new renewable energy, and becoming the world's fourth-largest producer of environmentally-friendly "green cars," both by 2020.

Lee emphasized that his government will further reinforce research and exploitation of natural resources in the Arctic Ocean and Antarctic Continent, as part of a drive to secure offshore energy resources.

The president also declared his determination to drastically upgrade the value of South Korea's national brand and its economic assistance to underdeveloped countries and expand the nation's peacekeeping activities abroad in accordance with its growing international status.

"Over the past six decades, South Korea's economy has grown 750-fold and its per-capita income multiplied over 300 times. It is a history of success," said Lee.

"The past 60 years was a time for us to acquire basic freedom. The next 60 years should be a time for us to embody a matured freedom. By then, the founding of the Republic of Korea will truly be complete," he said.

(Yonhap)