PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P. J. KEATING MP
AND HIS EXCELLENCY MR KIM YOUNG SAM, PRESIDENT OF THE
REPUBLIC OF KOREA, JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE, PARLIAMENT
HOUSE, CANBERRA, 18 NOVEMBER 1994
E& OE PROOF COPY
PM: Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen, could I perhaps begin
with a short statement. I would just like to repeat what I said last night,
that it has been a personal as well as an official pleasure to have
President Kim Young Sam visit Australia. Not only because we have
worked together closely on multi-lateral bodies such as APEC and on
regional issues, but because of my very deep respect for the
President's very distinguished commitment to democratic reform in
Korea.
The President and I talked over dinner last night, we have had a formal
meeting this morning, we have just joined our Cabinet colleagues and
come from there and we are having a private lunch after we see you.
We got through quite a lot of work today and I just thought I might
repeat to you those bilateral issues which we discussed.
First of all, the President was kind enough to give me an indication of
the relations between South Korea and the DPRK and I was pleased
to have that information and view about how the President sees
relations on the Korean peninsula. I said to the President that I
thought that the inter-Korean dialogue was extremely important, not
only to Korea and relations on the Korean peninsula, but to those of us
in the region to know that there is a dialogue going on, that there is a
relationship, that progress can be made, and that we regard that that
is the dialogue as a matter of necessity.
On bi-lateral relations we have agreed to support stronger investment
links. We are negotiating now an investment protection and promotion
agreement and we hope to bring that to conclusion. We have agreed
to establish a joint fund to facilitate industrial technology projects of
about roughly half a million each side over three years in priority areas
such as the information super highway and clean energy. We have
agreed to upgrade science and technology co-operation through a new
science and technology agreement. We have agreed to promote
closer co-operation on energy through a ministerial level energy
symposium looking at such issues as long-term supply and potentially
joint investment. We further agreed to co-operate on environmental
matters. We have agreed to also expand our tourism relations, that is
expand our tourism sectors to try to facilitate the carriage of more
people between both countries. We had a brief discussion about
submarine technology given Australia's program and we have also had
discussions generally about trade issues and the trade deficit.
The President was kind enough to say that he was very moved by his
experience this morning at the Australian War Memorial and that he
would join Australia in making a contribution to a monument which we
would see in Anzac Parade a monument to the involvement of
Australians in the Korean War during the 1950s.
I think that is a resume of our discussion, but I would like to again
repeat that we are delighted to have the President in Australia. I am
particularly delighted to have him here after this bi-lateral co-operation*
we have had in the greater story of APEC. Very shortly Korea will be
Australia's second largest trading partner. We have a very high
premium on the relationship and I am exceptionally delighted that the
President was able to come to Australia after APEC to get to see our
country, to get to know us better and to make our relationship just that
much stronger. With those words I might invite President Kim Young
Sam to make an opening statement.
SAM: Not translated.
PM: Thank you very much, Mr President. I think, after that opening
statement by both of us we might take questions and perhaps we might
have a question from an Australian representative and then we will try
to alternate it.
J: Prime Minister Keating, did President Kim express an interest in
purchasing our Collins Class submarines?
PM: We didn't have a discussion about purchasing submarines. Korea is a
very confident ship building country, it is probably now building more
tonnage than any other country in the world, it has its own submarine
program. I think, what is significant here is that as with each program
the technology improves and Australian technology, particularly the
sophistication of the weapons fit could lead to a basis of co-operation
between us on some of these specialised areas of submarine
technology. That is the direction to go rather than any notion, certainly
at this point, of anyone buying anyone else's submarine.
J: Korean question not translated.
SAM: Not all translated this issue will be discussed and the solution will be
found and this issue will be definitely very positively revealed Prime
Minister Keating and I discussed the specific issue and based upon
the growing partnership between the two countries I expect that the
Australian government would consider this issue in a very favourable
perspective and after the working level discussion on this specific
issue we will get a response from the Australian side.
J: Robin Poke Voice of America. Just prior to APEC the President
mentioned the possibility of North Korea becoming part of APEC, was
that discussed between you either in Bogor or has it been discussed
while you have both been in Canberra?
PM: North Korea becoming part of APEC. It wasn't discussed in Bogor
because the President and I didn't meet there bi-laterally, we only
meet there in a multi-lateral context and new members were not
discussed other than to say that the current membership of APEC
thought that APEC needed to be consolidated before it opened itself
up to new membership. As you know, Mexico and Papua New Guinea
and Chile joined on this occasion, but I think, APEC members see a
case for being a little abstemious about membership until we get some
further consolidation of APECs work and that includes North Korea.
J: many schemes to reduce tariffs between Korea and Australia
especially for textile and automobile industries.
PM: The President raised with me the trade imbalance between Korea and
Australia. We are conscious of that trade imbalance, but we have
taken uni-lateral steps to reduce our industrial protection. Australia
will have an average level of trade weighted tariff protection of 3 per
cent by the year 2000 which is not so far away and already tariffs are a
long way down and there is no quota protection in this country. So, we
are opening Australia up, but I think, Australia probably will be a raw
materials supplier and a supplier of some specialised high technology
goods and services to Korea and the likelihood is that that will keep
the trade relationship in deficit. But, I have always seen as is the
case with Japan a triangle of trade. That is Japan for instance enjoys
we enjoy a very large surplus in trade with Japan, it enjoys a large
surplus of trade with the United States, and the United States enjoys a
large surplus of trade with us. Korea is in the exact same markets.
The likelihood is that we will enjoy a surplus of trade with Korea.
Korea, I think, enjoys a surplus with the United States and the United
States certainly has a surplus with us and a heavy one.
But, because the President and I have seen the virtue of opening up
trade in the Pacific through APEC, we do see the possibility of letting
markets equilibrate, to even themselves out, and this is the best
approach we could take.
J: Prime Minister, a question for both you and the President. You
mentioned the new Industry Investment Fund $ 500 million over three
years from both of you in what specific industries and in what specific
steps do you intend this fund, how do you intend it to operate?
PM: We will probably begin, first of all looking at where we can co-operate
industrially, but also in the initial period looking at the information
super highway in ways that we can facilitate technology between us.
As you know Australia is doing a lot of primary research into areas
such as photonics, fibre optics and generally is encouraging the
development of information products. I think, the President is also
struck by Australia's atmospheric conditions and the question of clean
energy comes to mind as one of the early things that we can cooperate
on in terms of industrial projects given Korea's energy
demands and the premium that President Kim places on the
environment, that clean energy is perhaps one of the areas where we
would first look under these arrangements, but at any rate I will ask the
President to add to that.
SAM: With regard to this issue we have exchanged our views fully,
environmental issues, mineral supply and the long term staple supply*
of energy all these issues have been discussed and we agreed to
establish a joint fund to promote these activities and detailed Yes, I
discussed with Prime Minister Keating in very much detail the c* ooperation
in the areas of energy supply, high tech industries and
mineral resources and environmental co-operation especially we are
very much interested in having a stable long term supply of the energy
sources from Australia and we have decided to leave the matter for
further consultation between the related ministers of both countries.
PM: We'll just have two final quick questions one from the Korean side
next. No one from the Korean side? Australia.
J: Camille Funnell Radio Australia. Was the issue of access of
Australian beef to the South Korean market raised in the talks and
secondly, there is also a suggestion that South Korea is not going to
ratify the GATT legislation until after the US decides what it is going to
do and was that issue raised?
PM: The President and I are about to have lunch and we haven't at this
stage discussed beef, but may well do over lunch. But, on the
ratification let me make very clear that the President has very
forthrightly, in the APEC context, spoken about ratification of the GATT
and, indeed, the communique urges each member country of APEC to
ratify the GATT, but that is a matter for him and I will ask the President
would he answer that part of the question.
SAM: I would like to tell you that we didn't discuss this time specifically the
issue of import of Australian beef to Korea. Regarding the WTO
ratification, the government policy is to actively support the launching
of the World Trade Organisation, but we are not in a hurry to rush to
the ratification. Possibly, I think, that as you have mentioned we can
ratify this important bill after the United States has confirmed the
ratification. We are taking a very comfortable approach to the
ratification, we don't like to hasten passage through the national
assembly.
PM: Any more questions from the Korean side?
J: The Korean Minister of Trade Mr Kim Chul Su is going to run for the
Secretary-General of WTO, I would like to know whether Mr Keating
would support him or not?
PM: We do, I made clear to him last evening that we would be supporting
Kim Chul Su for the Chair of the World Trade Organisation. I thought
originally the question was about the Organisation itself, but I am very
happy to say that we are supporting your Korean candidate because
we think it is important that these key positions in the world fora are
not continued to be held by Europeans, that they are actually, these
major positions, are spread around the world and particularly where
most of the growth is in Asia, it is entirely appropriate that a person
from Asia lead this liberalising body which has so much to offer the
world and so much for our region.
J: There was also the point about the United Nations Security Council.
PM: On the Security Council, let me again say, I am happy to confirm that
Australia supports Korea's position in respect of the Security Council
and the President was kind enough to say at some point in the future
when Australia puts up its hand we might have some support from
Korea too. Ladies and gentlemen, could I finish our press conference
there. Thank you very much for attending. I thank the President for
his time.
ends