UN Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks says Korean Peninsula on new path
- 6 years ago
한미연합사령관 브룩스, 제2회 한미동맹포럼 연설
General Vincent Brooks, Commander of UN Command and US Forces Korea,... gave a speech Wednesday in Seoul,... about recent developments.
During the speech, the general stressed that the allies still have to keep moving forward if they want a different future for the Peninsula.
Park Ji-won has this report.
General Vincent Brooks, Commander of UN Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea,... delivered a keynote speech Wednesday in central Seoul at the second Korea-U.S. Alliance Forum held together with the Korean-American Club.
The event was attended by around a hundred key military officials from Seoul and Washington, including the Chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Jeong Kyeong-doo.
General Brooks praised the fact that engagement with North Korea is happening on multiple fronts,... including a series of inter-Korean talks,... as well as the historic summit talks between the two Koreas and between Pyeongyang and Washington.
He said in this current confidence-building process,... South Korea has demonstrated a sophisticated, peaceful approach.
He also said the Korean Peninsula has entered onto a new path,... noting that he had faced some 50 different provocations from Pyongyang in the first 17 months that he was in office, starting in early 2016,... but he stressed that it's now been over half a year,... with not a single provocation from the North.
The general added that the ironclad ROK-U.S. alliance has also been the foundation of consistent pressure on the North,... saying he thinks that's at least part of the reason for Pyongyang's change.
"I am convinced it’s the part of the reason, no the entirety of the reason, why Kim Jong-un has decided to go the other direction. I've always believed in it. We did this in such a way that we were enabling diplomacy and economic actions to take their root. We have helped set the environment for that to occur and CFC has done that."
General Brooks emphasized that now is a time that presents both opportunities and challenges.
He said there are always reasons for doubt,... but stressed that taking steps forward is the only way to make new history.
"I think we have to also recognize we're in a unique place right now. What has happened in the past is not necessarily the prologue of what will happen in the future. We must move forward now, making the history not relying on it. If we do that by courageously walking foward together, that's an opportunity for us. The opportuity to overcome doubt, overcome fear, take a reasonable and prudent amount of risk to go in a new direction that has not been walked before."
Regarding recent decisions by South Korea and the U.S. to suspend their joint military exercises,... General Brooks said... now is the time when building confidence and trust is most important.
However, he emphasized that there are still many ways to use other leverage,.. such as adjusting the scope, scale, and timing of
General Vincent Brooks, Commander of UN Command and US Forces Korea,... gave a speech Wednesday in Seoul,... about recent developments.
During the speech, the general stressed that the allies still have to keep moving forward if they want a different future for the Peninsula.
Park Ji-won has this report.
General Vincent Brooks, Commander of UN Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea,... delivered a keynote speech Wednesday in central Seoul at the second Korea-U.S. Alliance Forum held together with the Korean-American Club.
The event was attended by around a hundred key military officials from Seoul and Washington, including the Chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Jeong Kyeong-doo.
General Brooks praised the fact that engagement with North Korea is happening on multiple fronts,... including a series of inter-Korean talks,... as well as the historic summit talks between the two Koreas and between Pyeongyang and Washington.
He said in this current confidence-building process,... South Korea has demonstrated a sophisticated, peaceful approach.
He also said the Korean Peninsula has entered onto a new path,... noting that he had faced some 50 different provocations from Pyongyang in the first 17 months that he was in office, starting in early 2016,... but he stressed that it's now been over half a year,... with not a single provocation from the North.
The general added that the ironclad ROK-U.S. alliance has also been the foundation of consistent pressure on the North,... saying he thinks that's at least part of the reason for Pyongyang's change.
"I am convinced it’s the part of the reason, no the entirety of the reason, why Kim Jong-un has decided to go the other direction. I've always believed in it. We did this in such a way that we were enabling diplomacy and economic actions to take their root. We have helped set the environment for that to occur and CFC has done that."
General Brooks emphasized that now is a time that presents both opportunities and challenges.
He said there are always reasons for doubt,... but stressed that taking steps forward is the only way to make new history.
"I think we have to also recognize we're in a unique place right now. What has happened in the past is not necessarily the prologue of what will happen in the future. We must move forward now, making the history not relying on it. If we do that by courageously walking foward together, that's an opportunity for us. The opportuity to overcome doubt, overcome fear, take a reasonable and prudent amount of risk to go in a new direction that has not been walked before."
Regarding recent decisions by South Korea and the U.S. to suspend their joint military exercises,... General Brooks said... now is the time when building confidence and trust is most important.
However, he emphasized that there are still many ways to use other leverage,.. such as adjusting the scope, scale, and timing of