On Nov. 5 in the Hoosier Room, students and Model U.N. members listened to a panel discussion about the future of Korea.
Dongman Han, Minister Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, gave a presentation about the Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement.
“Since the Korean War, South Korea has retained a strong relationship with the U.S.,” Han said.
The Korea-United States FTA will benefit both Korea and the United States.
“FTA is the largest trade agreement after [the North American Free Trade Agreement],” Han said.
The FTA eliminates or phases out tariffs on agricultural and other products that are imported or exported between Korea and the United States.
Han said the FTA was signed two years ago and is waiting for approval from congress to be ratified.
Han said it will help both the Korean and American economy, and it would have the possibility to curb China’s rising economy.
Chris Bailey, history senior, said he had concerns.
“The last free trade agreement the U.S. had was with Mexico, and it cost a pile of jobs,” Bailey said. “I’m not sure if this is a similar one.”
Brian Himmelsteib, Republic of Korea desk officer for the U.S. State Department, talked about the changing roles of the Korean Army in the peninsula.
Since the Korean War, there have been American troops on the peninsula to help protect South Korea.
In April 2012, the United States will be transferring control to South Korea, and will then assume a supporting role, rather than a defensive one.
Himmelsteib said South Korea the United States have a close relationship.
“We work together,” Himmelsteib said. “We do two major training exercises a year. We work very closely with our Korean comrades.”
The close relationship between the two countries can be seen in the amount of Koreans that come to the United States.
Himmelsteib said the visa waiver makes it much easier for them to come to the United States.
Jack Pritchard, president of the Korea Economic Institute, talked about North Korea and their nuclear weapons.
Pritchard said there have been many attempts to talk about their nuclear weapons talks that have failed with North Korea.
Pritchard said in the past the United States has tried on several occasions to form peace talks with North Korea, but they did not want anything to do with it. The U.S. has also tried exchanging food with North Korea in exchange for allowing the U.S. to send in inspectors. He said this did not work and negotiating bilaterally wasn’t going to happen again.
Recently, the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il, suffered from a stroke and is facing serious health
issues.
There are many concerns about who is going to take his position when Jong-il dies. His youngest son, Kim Jong-un, is in consideration for the position.
Pritchard said Jong-il will look for a way to keep the military and family connected in the future.
By KATHERINE PITTELKO
Staff Writer
kpittelk@ius.edu