Diplomacy in a Global Age: Ambassadors Discuss Free Trade, Nuclear Proliferation, and the U.S.-South Korea Relationship
Ambassador Lee Tae-sik and Ambassador Alexander Vershbow
January 28, 2008 @ 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm, LBJ Library Atrium
South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Lee Tae-sik and U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow spoke at a recent Strauss Center event about the U.S. - South Korea relationship.
Ambassador Vershbow began by emphasizing the strong political and economic relationship that has developed between the two countries over the past 50 years and argued for the quick ratification of the Korea - U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) signed in June 2007, which would create the third largest free trade area in the world next to the European Union and NAFTA. Ambassador Lee Tae-sik also extolled the many benefits that both countries can expect from implementation of the KORUS FTA and highlighted the strong connection shared between our two countries since the Korean War, honoring members of the Korean War Veterans Association present at the talk. Both ambassadors expressed cautious optimism concerning the progress made in the six-party talks towards dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, and Ambassador Vershbow called South Korea the most important party to those talks after China.
LBJ School Dean James Steinberg with Ambassador Lee.
Ambassador Lee's remarks.
Ambassador Vershbow's remarks
The Ambassadors spoke to a full house in the LBJ Library Atrium.
Ambassador Lee Tae-sik is a career diplomat whose service covers four decades and four continents. He has held several senior-level positions throughout the Korean government, including Director-General of the International Trade Bureau and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Ambassador Lee became Korea’s Ambassador to the United States in 2005.
Ambassador Vershbow was sworn in as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea in October 2005. He is a career member of the Foreign Service and has extensive experience in East-West relations, nonproliferation and European security affairs. Ambassador Vershbow has also served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation and to NATO, where he received the State Department’s Distinguished Service award for his work.
The Strauss Center is nonpartisan and takes no institutional position on any issue. All statements of fact and all expressions of opinion at Center events are the sole responsibility of the speaker.
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