President Park congratulates US President-elect Donald Trump on election
“President Park Geun-hye spoke on the telephone this morning President-elect Donald Trump who won the U.S. presidential election,” so said by the Presidential Office Cheong Wa Dae on Nov. 10, 2016. Congratulating him on his election victory, President Park expressed hopes that he would continue to work to make a stronger and more prosperous America and a peaceful world with his extraordinary experience and leadership.
During their 10-minute telephone conversation, President Park noted that Korea and the United States have built mutual trust while advancing the alliance between the two countries over the past six decades. She went on to say that she looked forward to working closely with him to bolster and develop the alliance in more diverse areas for the sake of common interests.
In addition, she highlighted the fact that the most serious challenge facing the Korea-U.S. alliance currently is North Korean nuclear and missile threats. Given the North`s past practices of testing a new administration through provocations during the transition period, President Park noted that, for several months to come, the two countries needed to work closely together to thoroughly contain any possible provocative acts and, if they occur, sternly respond to them.
In particular, President Park emphasized that, as the North Korean leadership is abnormally obsessed with its nuclear arsenal and missiles, it was necessary to make the North clearly realize by means of strong pressure and sanctions that things would not proceed as they wanted. To this end, the President expressed the hope that the two nations would closely cooperate.
In reply, President-elect Trump said he totally agreed with President Park`s ideas, including on the North Korean problem. Mentioning the heightened instability in the North, he continued to say that the United States would stand shoulder to shoulder with Korea to the end, adding that the alliance would remain unwavering.
Thanking President-elect Trump for accurately understanding the state of affairs in the region and expressing his support, President Park stressed that Korea and the United States should solidify their partnership to change the mindset of the North Korean leadership while maintaining and building up a strong deterrence against the North in the years to come.
President-elect Trump expressed agreement and said the United States would stand with Korea 100 percent and cooperate with Korea firmly and robustly to guard against the unpredictability of the North.
Finally, President Park said she looked forward to meeting the President-elect to have more in-depth discussions in the near future, hoping that he would be able to visit Korea at an early date. Expressing his gratitude, President-elect Trump said that he was looking forward to a meeting and that Korea and the United States would be safe as they were together.