Obama, Lee reaffirm U.S.-S. Korea ties

WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak reconfirmed the countries' alliance, committing to a free democracy and a market economy.

"The bonds that underpin our alliance and our partnership are strengthened and enriched by the close relationships among our citizens," the two said in a joint vision statement on the alliance released by the White House. "We pledge to continue programs and efforts to build even closer ties between our societies, including cooperation among business, civic, cultural, academic, and other institutions."

The vision statement was released during Lee's visit to the White House.

The United States-South Korea Mutual Defense Treaty is the cornerstone of the countries' security relationship and has "guaranteed peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia for over 50 years," the statement said. Since then, the partnership expanded to include political, economic, social and cultural cooperation.

The two countries pledged to deepen bilateral economic, trade and investment relations, recognizing that the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement could further strengthen the ties.

The vision statement also said the countries were committed "to make low-carbon green growth into a new engine for sustainable economic prosperity and will closely cooperate in this regard."

Based on the solid foundation between the two countries, "we will build a comprehensive strategic alliance of bilateral, regional and global scope, based on common values and mutual trust," the statement said.