REMARKS BY PRESIDENT
TRUMP TO THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
'Assembly Speaker Chung,
distinguished members of this Assembly, ladies and gentlemen: Thank you for the
extraordinary privilege to speak in this great chamber and to address your
people on behalf of the people of the United States of America.
'In our short time in
your country, Melania and I have been awed by its ancient and modern wonders,
and we are deeply moved by the warmth of your welcome.
'Last night, President
and Mrs. Moon showed us incredible hospitality in a beautiful reception at the
Blue House. We had productive discussions on increasing military cooperation
and improving the trade relationship between our nations on the principle of
fairness and reciprocity.
'Through this entire
visit, it has been both our pleasure and our honor to create and celebrate a
long friendship between the United States and the Republic of Korea.
'This alliance between
our nations was forged in the crucible of war, and strengthened by the trials
of history. From the Inchon landings to Pork Chop Hill, American and South Korean
soldiers have fought together, sacrificed together, and triumphed together.
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'Almost 67 years ago, in
the spring of 1951, they recaptured what remained of this city where we are
gathered so proudly today. It was the second time in a year that our combined
forces took on steep casualties to retake this capital from the communists.
'Over the next weeks and
months, the men soldiered through steep mountains and bloody, bloody battles.
Driven back at times, they willed their way north to form the line that today
divides the oppressed and the free. And there, American and South Korean troops
have remained together holding that line for nearly seven decades.
'By the time the
armistice was signed in 1953, more than 36,000 Americans had died in the Korean
War, with more than 100,000 others very badly wounded. They are heroes, and we
honor them. We also honor and remember the terrible price the people of your
country paid for their freedom. You lost hundreds of thousands of brave
soldiers and countless innocent civilians in that gruesome war.
'Much of this great city
of Seoul was reduced to rubble. Large portions of the country were scarred –
severely, severely hurt – by this horrible war. The economy of this nation was
demolished.
'But as the entire world
knows, over the next two generations something miraculous happened on the
southern half of this peninsula. Family by family, city by city, the people of
South Korea built this country into what is today one of the great nations of
the world. And I congratulate you. In less than one lifetime, South Korea climbed
from total devastation to among the wealthiest nations on Earth.
'Today, your economy is
more than 350 times larger than what it was in 1960. Trade has increased 1,900
times. Life expectancy has risen from just 53 years to more than 82 years
today.
'Like Korea, and since
my election exactly one year ago today, I celebrate with you. The United States
is going through something of a miracle itself. Our stock market is at an
all-time high. Unemployment is at a 17-year low. We are defeating ISIS. We are
strengthening our judiciary, including a brilliant Supreme Court justice, and
on, and on, and on.
'Currently stationed in
the vicinity of this peninsula are the three largest aircraft carriers in the
world loaded to the maximum with magnificent F-35 and F-18 fighter jets. In
addition, we have nuclear submarines appropriately positioned. The United
States, under my administration, is completely rebuilding its military and is
spending hundreds of billions of dollars to the newest and finest military
equipment anywhere in the world being built, right now. I want peace through
strength.
'We are helping the
Republic of Korea far beyond what any other country has ever done. And, in the
end, we will work things out far better than anybody understands or can even
appreciate. I know that the Republic of Korea, which has become a tremendously
successful nation, will be a faithful ally of the United States very long into
the future.
'What you have built is
truly an inspiration. Your economic transformation was linked to a political
one. The proud, sovereign, and independent people of your nation demanded the
right to govern themselves. You secured free parliamentary elections in 1988,
the same year you hosted your first Olympics.
'Soon after, you elected
your first civilian president in more than three decades. And when the Republic
you won faced financial crisis, you lined up by the millions to give your most
prized possessions – your wedding rings, heirlooms, and gold “luck keys” – to
restore the promise of a better future for your children.
'Your wealth is measured
in more than money – it is measured in achievements of the mind and
achievements of spirit. Over the last several decades, your scientists of
engineers – have engineered so many magnificent things. You've pushed the
boundaries of technology, pioneered miraculous medical treatments, and emerged
as leaders in unlocking the mysteries of our universe.
'Korean authors penned
roughly 40,000 books this year. Korean musicians fill concert halls all around
the world. Young Korean students graduate from college at the highest rates of
any country. And Korean golfers are some of the best on Earth.
'In fact – and you know
what I'm going to say – the Women's U.S. Open was held this year at Trump
National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and it just happened to be won by
a great Korean golfer, Sung-hyun Park. An eighth of the top 10 players were
from Korea. And the top four golfers – one, two, three, four – the top four
were from Korea. Congratulations. Congratulations. And that's something. That
is really something.
'Here in Seoul,
architectural wonders like the Sixty-Three Building and the Lotte World Tower –
very beautiful – grace the sky and house the workers of many growing
industries.
'Your citizens now help
to feed the hungry, fight terrorism, and solve problems all over the world. And
in a few months, you will host the world and you will do a magnificent job at
the 23rd Olympic Winter Games. Good luck.
'The Korean miracle
extends exactly as far as the armies of free nations advanced in 1953 – 24
miles to the north. There, it stops; it all comes to an end. Dead stop. The
flourishing ends, and the prison state of North Korea sadly begins.
'Workers in North Korea
labor grueling hours in unbearable conditions for almost no pay. Recently, the
entire working population was ordered to work for 70 days straight, or else pay
for a day of rest.
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'Families live in homes
without plumbing, and fewer than half have electricity. Parents bribe teachers
in hopes of saving their sons and daughters from forced labor. More than a
million North Koreans died of famine in the 1990s, and more continue to die of
hunger today.
'Among children under
the age of five, nearly 30 percent of afflicted – and are afflicted by stunted
growth due to malnutrition. And yet, in 2012 and 2013, the regime spent an
estimated $200 million – or almost half the money that it allocated to improve
living standards for its people – to instead build even more monuments, towers,
and statues to glorify its dictators.
'What remains of the
meager harvest of the North Korean economy is distributed according to
perceived loyalty to a twisted regime. Far from valuing its people as equal
citizens, this cruel dictatorship measures them, scores them, and ranks them
based on the most arbitrary indications of their allegiance to the state. Those
who score the highest in loyalty may live in the capital city. Those who score
the lowest starve. A small infraction by one citizen, such as accidently
staining a picture of the tyrant printed in a discarded newspaper, can wreck
the social credit rank of his entire family for many decades.
'An estimated 100,000
North Koreans suffer in gulags, toiling in forced labor, and enduring torture,
starvation, rape, and murder on a constant basis.
'In one known instance,
a 9-year-old boy was imprisoned for 10 years because his grandfather was
accused of treason. In another, a student was beaten in school for forgetting a
single detail about the life of Kim Jong-un.
'Soldiers have kidnapped
foreigners and forced them to work as language tutors for North Korean spies.
'In the part of Korea
that was a stronghold for Christianity before the war, Christians and other
people of faith who are found praying or holding a religious book of any kind
are now detained, tortured, and in many cases, even executed.
'North Korean women are
forced to abort babies that are considered ethnically inferior. And if these
babies are born, the newborns are murdered.
'One woman's baby born
to a Chinese father was taken away in a bucket. The guards said it did not
“deserve to live because it was impure.”
'So why would China feel
an obligation to help North Korea?
'The horror of life in
North Korea is so complete that citizens pay bribes to government officials to
have themselves exported aboard as slaves. They would rather be slaves than
live in North Korea.
'To attempt to flee is a
crime punishable by death. One person who escaped remarked, "When I think
about it now, I was not a human being. I was more like an animal. Only after
leaving North Korea did I realize what life was supposed to be."
'And so, on this
peninsula, we have watched the results of a tragic experiment in a laboratory
of history. It is a tale of one people, but two Koreas. One Korea in which the
people took control of their lives and their country, and chose a future of
freedom and justice, of civilization, and incredible achievement. And another
Korea in which leaders imprison their people under the banner of tyranny,
fascism, and oppression. The result of this experiment are in, and they are
totally conclusive.
'When the Korean War
began in 1950, the two Koreas were approximately equal in GDP per capita. But
by the 1990s, South Korea's wealth had surpassed North Korea's by more than 10
times. And today, the South's economy is over 40 times larger. You started the
same a short while ago, and now you're 40 times larger. You're doing something
right.
'Considering the misery
wrought by the North Korean dictatorship, it is no surprise that it has been
forced to take increasingly desperate measures to prevent its people from
understanding this brutal contrast.
'Because the regime
fears the truth above all else, it forbids virtually all contact with the
outside world. Not just my speech today, but even the most commonplace facts of
South Korean life are forbidden knowledge to the North Korean people. Western
and South Korean music is banned. Possession of foreign media is a crime
punishable by death. Citizens spy on fellow citizens, their homes are subject
to search at any time, and their every action is subject to surveillance. In
place of a vibrant society, the people of North Korea are bombarded by state
propaganda practically every waking hour of the day.
'North Korea is a
country ruled as a cult. At the center of this military cult is a deranged
belief in the leader's destiny to rule as parent protector over a conquered
Korean Peninsula and an enslaved Korean people.
'The more successful
South Korea becomes, the more decisively you discredit the dark fantasy at the
heart of the Kim regime.
'In this way, the very
existence of a thriving South Korean republic threatens the very survival of
the North Korean dictatorship.
'This city and this
assembly are living proof that a free and independent Korea not only can, but
does stand strong, sovereign, and proud among the nations of the world.
'Here, the strength of
the nation does not come from the false glory of a tyrant. It comes from the
true and powerful glory of a strong and great people – the people of the
Republic of Korea – a Korean people who are free to live, to flourish, to
worship, to love, to build, and to grow their own destiny.
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'In this Republic, the
people have done what no dictator ever could – you took, with the help of the
United States, responsibility for yourselves and ownership of your future. You
had a dream – a Korean dream – and you built that dream into a great reality.
'In so doing, you
performed the miracle on the Hahn that we see all around us, from the stunning
skyline of Seoul to the plains and peaks of this beautiful landscape. You have
done it freely, you have done it happily, and you have done it in your own very
beautiful way.
'This reality – this
wonderful place – your success is the greatest cause of anxiety, alarm, and
even panic to the North Korean regime. That is why the Kim regime seeks
conflict abroad – to distract from total failure that they suffer at home.
'Since the so-called
armistice, there have been hundreds of North Korean attacks on Americans and
South Koreans. These attacks have included the capture and torture of the brave
American soldiers of the USS Pueblo, repeated assaults on American helicopters,
and the 1969 drowning [downing] of a U.S. surveillance plane that killed 31
American servicemen. The regime has made numerous lethal incursions in South
Korea, attempted to assassinate senior leaders, attacked South Korean ships,
and tortured Otto Warmbier, ultimately leading to that fine young man's death.
'All the while, the
regime has pursued nuclear weapons with the deluded hope that it could
blackmail its way to the ultimate objective. And that objective we are not
going to let it have. We are not going to let it have. All of Korea is under
that spell, divided in half. South Korea will never allow what's going on in
North Korea to continue to happen.
'The North Korean regime
has pursued its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in defiance of every
assurance, agreement, and commitment it has made to the United States and its
allies. It's broken all of those commitments. After promising to freeze its
plutonium program in 1994, it repeated [reaped] the benefits of the deal and
then – and then immediately continued its illicit nuclear activities.
'In 2005, after years of
diplomacy, the dictatorship agreed to ultimately abandon its nuclear programs
and return to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation. But it never did. And worse, it
tested the very weapons it said it was going to give up. In 2009, the United
States gave negotiations yet another chance, and offered North Korea the open
hand of engagement. The regime responded by sinking a South Korean Navy ship,
killing 46 Korean sailors. To this day, it continues to launch missiles over
the sovereign territory of Japan and all other neighbors, test nuclear devices,
and develop ICBMs to threaten the United States itself. The regime has
interpreted America's past restraint as weakness. This would be a fatal miscalculation.
This is a very different administration than the United States has had in the
past.
'Today, I hope I speak
not only for our countries, but for all civilized nations, when I say to the
North: Do not underestimate us, and do not try us. We will defend our common
security, our shared prosperity, and our sacred liberty.
'We did not choose to
draw here, on this peninsula – this magnificent peninsula – the thin line of
civilization that runs around the world and down through time. But here it was
drawn, and here it remains to this day. It is the line between peace and war,
between decency and depravity, between law and tyranny, between hope and total
despair. It is a line that has been drawn many times, in many places,
throughout history. To hold that line is a choice free nations have always had
to make. We have learned together the high cost of weakness and the high stakes
of its defense.
'America's men and women
in uniform have given their lives in the fight against Nazism, imperialism,
Communism and terrorism.
'America does not seek
conflict or confrontation, but we will never run from it. History is filled
with discarded regimes that have foolishly tested America's resolve.
'Anyone who doubts the
strength or determination of the United States should look to our past, and you
will doubt it no longer. We will not permit America or our allies to be
blackmailed or attacked. We will not allow American cities to be threatened
with destruction. We will not be intimidated. And we will not let the worst atrocities
in history be repeated here, on this ground, we fought and died so hard to
secure.
'That is why I have come
here, to the heart of a free and flourishing Korea, with a message for the
peace-loving nations of the world: The time for excuses is over. Now is the
time for strength. If you want peace, you must stand strong at all times. The
world cannot tolerate the menace of a rogue regime that threatens with nuclear
devastation.
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'All responsible nations
must join forces to isolate the brutal regime of North Korea – to deny it and
any form – any form of it. You cannot support, you cannot supply, you cannot
accept. We call on every nation, including China and Russia, to fully implement
U.N. Security Council resolutions, downgrade diplomatic relations with the
regime, and sever all ties of trade and technology.
'It is our
responsibility and our duty to confront this danger together – because the
longer we wait, the greater the danger grows, and the fewer the options become.
And to those nations that choose to ignore this threat, or, worse still, to
enable it, the weight of this crisis is on your conscience.
'I also have come here
to this peninsula to deliver a message directly to the leader of the North
Korean dictatorship: The weapons you are acquiring are not making you safer.
They are putting your regime in grave danger. Every step you take down this
dark path increases the peril you face.
'North Korea is not the
paradise your grandfather envisioned. It is a hell that no person deserves.
Yet, despite every crime you have committed against God and man, you are ready
to offer, and we will do that – we will offer a path to a much better future.
It begins with an end to the aggression of your regime, a stop to your development
of ballistic missiles, and complete, verifiable, and total denuclearization.
'A sky-top view of this
peninsula shows a nation of dazzling light in the South and a mass of
impenetrable darkness in the North. We seek a future of light, prosperity, and
peace. But we are only prepared to discuss this brighter path for North Korea
if its leaders cease their threats and dismantle their nuclear program.
'The sinister regime of
North Korea is right about only one thing: The Korean people do have a glorious
destiny, but they could not be more wrong about what that destiny looks like.
The destiny of the Korean people is not to suffer in the bondage of oppression,
but to thrive in the glory of freedom.
'What South Koreans have
achieved on this peninsula is more than a victory for your nation. It is a
victory for every nation that believes in the human spirit. And it is our hope
that, someday soon, all of your brothers and sisters of the North will be able
to enjoy the fullest of life intended by God.
'Your republic shows us
all of what is possible. In just a few decades, with only the hard work,
courage, and talents of your people, you turned this war-torn land into a
nation blessed with wealth, rich in culture, and deep in spirit. You built a
home where all families can flourish and where all children can shine and be
happy.
'This Korea stands
strong and tall among the great community of independent, confident, and
peace-loving nations. We are nations that respect our citizens, cherish our
liberty, treasure our sovereignty, and control our own destiny. We affirm the
dignity of every person and embrace the full potential of every soul. And we
are always prepared to defend the vital interests of our people against the
cruel ambition of tyrants.
'Together, we dream of a
Korea that is free, a peninsula that is safe, and families that are reunited
once again. We dream of highways connecting North and South, of cousins
embracing cousins, and this nuclear nightmare replaced with the beautiful
promise of peace.
'Until that day comes,
we stand strong and alert. Our eyes are fixed to the North, and our hearts
praying for the day when all Koreans can live in freedom.
'Thank you. God Bless
You. God Bless the Korean people. Thank you very much. Thank you.'
