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Special contribution by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden
October 30 Yonhap News Agency
Hope for Our Better Future
By Vice President Joe Biden
I will never forget standing less than 100 feet away from North Korea at the DMZ with my granddaughter, Finnegan, beside me. I felt the pain of division on the Korean Peninsula and the separation of families since the Korean War. It was more visceral, because earlier in the day, I had just laid the wreath at the War Memorial of Korea to honor the 36,574 American soldiers who died during war.
This was in 2013, during my trip to South Korea to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the alliance forged in blood between our two countries. As I said then, I have a profound respect for the Korean people and for everything that South Korea has accomplished since the Korean War.
Out of the ashes of war, South Korea has shown the world the "miracle of the Han River," becoming a shining example of a flourishing democracy and economic powerhouse. It has been a global leader in the fight against COVID-19; and a strong ally in the region, to advance our shared prosperity, values, and security, and to meet global challenges.
Words matter -- and a president's words matter even more. As President, I'll stand with South Korea, strengthening our alliance to safeguard peace in East Asia and beyond, rather than extorting Seoul with reckless threats to remove our troops. I'll engage in principled diplomacy and keep pressing toward a denuclearized North Korea and a unified Korean Peninsula, while working to reunite Korean Americans separated from loved ones in North Korea for decades.
I am grateful for the innumerable contributions made by almost two million Korean Americans -- especially during these tough times when the United States is at a crossroads, facing a pandemic, a recession, and an election that will decide our futures for a very long time...
By Vice President Joe Biden
I will never forget standing less than 100 feet away from North Korea at the DMZ with my granddaughter, Finnegan, beside me. I felt the pain of division on the Korean Peninsula and the separation of families since the Korean War. It was more visceral, because earlier in the day, I had just laid the wreath at the War Memorial of Korea to honor the 36,574 American soldiers who died during war.
This was in 2013, during my trip to South Korea to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the alliance forged in blood between our two countries. As I said then, I have a profound respect for the Korean people and for everything that South Korea has accomplished since the Korean War.
Out of the ashes of war, South Korea has shown the world the "miracle of the Han River," becoming a shining example of a flourishing democracy and economic powerhouse. It has been a global leader in the fight against COVID-19; and a strong ally in the region, to advance our shared prosperity, values, and security, and to meet global challenges.
Words matter -- and a president's words matter even more. As President, I'll stand with South Korea, strengthening our alliance to safeguard peace in East Asia and beyond, rather than extorting Seoul with reckless threats to remove our troops. I'll engage in principled diplomacy and keep pressing toward a denuclearized North Korea and a unified Korean Peninsula, while working to reunite Korean Americans separated from loved ones in North Korea for decades.
I am grateful for the innumerable contributions made by almost two million Korean Americans -- especially during these tough times when the United States is at a crossroads, facing a pandemic, a recession, and an election that will decide our futures for a very long time...
more:
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20201030000500325?input=tw
Moving and promising statement by Joe, really going beyond previous administrations by mentioning receptivity to the goal of Korean unification and recognizing the separated families issue.