Mr. President, I am looking forward with joy in my heart to meeting with you and other leaders of your Government during my visit. We will discuss in all sincerity and frankness those problems of mutual interest which confront us today, with

a view to strengthening the existing ties of friendship between our two countries.

Once again, I wish to express my gratitude to you, Mr. President, for this warm welcome extended to me and my party. Thank you.

March 14, 1967

Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Vice President, Members of the Cabinet, Senator Fulbright and Members of the Congress, Governor Hughes, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

This morning I had the privilege of welcoming you, Mr. Prime Minister, to the United States of America.

Now, it is a very great pleasure to welcome you to my home.

Around us here today you will see many people who know your country well.

And each of them is a friend of Korea. Although I was in your country only a very short time, the visit last fall was one of the most memorable and the most heartwarming that I have ever known.

Mrs. Johnson and I shall never forgetand everyone with us will remember the warmth, the spontaneity, the hospitality of the Korean people. I can still hear the rustling of countless small flags-Korean and American-that welcomed us in Seoul. I can still see those schoolboy posters all along your streets and the open friendliness in the faces of those who held them.

We knew, of course, that your country was called the "Land of the Morning Calm." And we found it to be so-in the early morning, when the mists are rising over the rivers. But it is not long before the air is filled with the sounds of men building and planting and producing, of little children reciting their lessons in the school, of the whole

countryside coming awake and work being done.

I was struck by the evidence of economic growth and vigor that I saw everywhere we looked.

Koreans were working to make a better society to insure that all of the people shared in the fruits of their economic growth. So both of us would like to cultivate our gardens in peace.

We would like to make them bloom as they have never bloomed before—to create and to enjoy the blessings of prosperity, to enlarge the possibilities of a dignified and meaningful life.

But in our world even the most remote nations are often barred from cultivating their gardens in peace.

It is a world where peace and freedom and justice are constantly in jeopardy.

It is a world where men, if they will not stand up, may be forced to kneel.

Neither Koreans nor Americans kneel gracefully before conquerors or before aggressors.

It is a world where responsibilities are heavy for those who are willing to shoulder the burden of responsibility.

We carried that burden together-in the defense of South Korea.

We carry it together as we meet here today-in the defense of South Vietnam.

We shall continue to carry it-until ambitious men recognize that aggression and

terror are futile and outdated weapons in relations between peoples and nations.

We shall continue together because, as our great President Harry Truman said. more than 15 years ago: "All free nations are exposed and all are in peril. Their only security lies in banding together. No one nation can find protection in a selfish search for a safe haven from the storm."

In going to the assistance of others—as our Korean friends know so well-America does not seek to dominate or control.

We do not seek national grandeur or special privilege.

What we seek-in cooperation with likeminded nations like Korea-is the basis for a lasting peace-a peace with justice.

Not the peace of the grave, but the peace of life-where men are free and able to shape their own future.

Today, together, we fight. But even as we do, we work together in a multitude of ways to improve the quality of the life of our own people and the life of others in the world.

And when real peace comes-as it will come-I know we shall continue to worktogether and with others-to better the world we have inherited and helped to preserve. Mr. Prime Minister, we are delighted that you are with us in our country today.

In the spirit of our deep friendship and admiration for a very brave people, I ask all of those who have come here today to join me in a toast:

To His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Korea-and to the continued prosperity and freedom of the Korean people. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at 2:22 p.m. at a luncheon in the State Dining Room at the White House. In his opening words he referred to Prime Minister Il Kwon Chung, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, Senator J. W. Fulbright of Arkansas, and Governor Richard J. Hughes of New Jersey. The Prime Minister responded as follows: Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, ladies and gentlemen:

I wish to extend my heartfelt gratitude to you for your warm address and for this wonderful luncheon for me and my party.

After 4 years, I am indeed happy to visit this country once again.

I was moved by the marvelous aerial view of this great city, which has become more beautiful and splendid than I remembered. Here again as I find myself in this amicable and congenial company of old friends, I am at a loss for adequate words to express my deep emotion.

Mr. President, as I stand here, I have a vivid memory of the cheers of millions of people on the streets of Seoul who, with flags in their hands, welcomed you to Korea last autumn.

I am sure that you personally felt then the admiration and appreciation of the Korean people. As a great leader, you have the mission of protecting freedom. You are armed with unfailing courage and a strong belief in justice. These are qualities we Koreans know are needed at this critical time in history.

Mr. President and distinguished guests, as President Park has stated before, we have been trying very hard to be a nation which stands by its friends and repays its obligations. We know well that real gratitude is more properly expressed by deeds rather than by words.

I am very proud to declare that the sacrifices and efforts made by American people in Korea have not been wasted.

Mr. President, you stated in Seoul that self-esteem gives to a people confidence-a strong confidencewithout which a people can accomplish little, and with which they can surmount any obstacles.

Today, we are full of this confidence, my people are overcoming all difficulties and marching toward a hopeful tomorrow.

During the past several years, under the inspiring leadership of President Park, we Korean people have achieved political stability and economic progress.

According to 1966 statistics of our economic growth, the per capita income reached $123; the total amount of exports, $250 million; and the foreign reserves, close to $230 million.

I know well that these figures are not so big as to surprise any one of you. Nevertheless, these figures are really encouraging to us, because, comparing them with those of 5 years ago, you will discover that some of them have almost doubled and still others have increased almost 10 times.

Mr. President and distinguished guests, the Korean people, who in the past were negative and resistant, have now become one of the free nations in the world, pursuing a course of affirmation and positive contribution. In other words, today we ask ourselves what we can do as an ally of the United States, and what we can do as a free nation in

stantly pursued but reaffirmed the determination of their two governments to continue vigorously the military struggle in Vietnam until the North Vietnamese are willing to enter into meaningful negotiations for peace. They affirmed that their two governments would continue to act in closest consultation on both these matters. Recalling that the United States Government has pledged to give special support to the Government of the Republic of Vietnam on peaceful development, including the latter government's revolutionary development programs, and that the Government of the Republic of Vietnam has requested the Korean Government to render assistance for the same programs, President Johnson and Prime Minister Chung agreed that their two governments will, in close consultation and coordination among themselves and with the Government of Vietnam, jointly render cooperation and assistance to the successful implementation of the peaceful development activities including the Government of Vietnam's revolutionary development program.

The President and the Prime Minister reviewed the recent series of incidents on land and sea in and near the Demilitarized Zone in Korea in which both ROK and U.S. units have suffered casualties from unprovoked attacks by North Korean forces. They agreed on the need for maintaining constant vigilance against the threat of renewed aggression against the Republic of Korea. They further agreed that in view of this continuing threat modernization of the Korean armed forces should be continued as rapidly as legislative and budgetary limitations will permit. President Johnson reaffirmed the readiness and determination of the United States to render prompt and effective assistance to defeat an armed attack against the Republic of Korea, in accordance with the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1954. President Johnson

assured Prime Minister Chung that the United States would continue to support the Korean armed forces at levels adequate to ensure Korea's security.

Prime Minister Chung reviewed his gov ernment's economic objective, as set forth in its Second Five Year Economic Development Plan. President Johnson expressed the admiration of the American people for the striking progress made by the Korean Government and people during recent years in increasing gross national product, industrial output, agricultural production, exports, and domestic revenues. President Johnson reaffirmed to Prime Minister Chung his previous assurances that the United States would continue to support the economic growth of the Republic of Korea, and in particular, to assist in the achievement of the goals of the second Five Year Plan. Further development loans will constitute one form of such support. He noted also that a consultative group of friendly governments, including the United States, and international lending institutions has been formed. to coordinate the provision of development funds to the Republic of Korea.

Prime Minister Chung expressed gratification over the imminent visit of the private trade and investment mission to Korea under the leadership of Mr. George W. Ball. He assured President Johnson that the trade mission would be warmly welcomed in Korea, in keeping with the desire of both governments to expand trade between the two nations and to promote American private investment in Korea. President Johnson reaffirmed the United States Government interest in furthering the growth of trade between. the Republic of Korea and the United States. and stressed the importance of periodic meetings between appropriate United States. officials and their Korean counterparts. It was agreed that the Minister of Commerce and

Industry and the Secretary of Commerce meet annually for this purpose. He also assured the Prime Minister that the United States would cooperate with the Republic of Korea to bring promptly to the attention of American private business interests the opportunities and possibilities for investment in Korea, both through commercial loans and joint business ventures.

President Johnson and Prime Minister Chung reaffirmed the conviction of their two governments that existing regional organizations and institutions in the Pacific area should be strengthened and developed, with the ultimate objective of creating a new Pacific Community, open to all nations prepared to live at peace and to cooperate and work for the welfare of the people of Asia and the Pacific, as agreed by Presidents. Johnson and Park in their joint statement in Seoul in November, 1966. President Johnson and Prime Minister Chung recalled the goals of freedom as declared by the seven heads of state at Manila last October and Prime Minister Chung reaffirmed the determination of the government of the Republic of Korea to

continue its efforts towards accelerating the growth of a Pacific Community. President Johnson expressed appreciation for the initiative and important contributions made by the Republic of Korea in the evolution of the Pacific Community. He stressed the importance of solidarity and mutual support among the countries in the region and expressed the readiness of the United States Government to play its part in developing the Pacific Community.

President Johnson and Prime Minister Chung reaffirmed the strong ties of friendship and mutual interest between the Republic of Korea and the United States and pledged themselves anew to the maintenance and strengthening of those ties and to continued cooperation between their two governments in the economic, political, and military fields.

On behalf of the members of his party and the Korean people, Prime Minister Chung expressed his deepest appreciation to President Johnson for the warm reception and for the hospitality extended to him by President Johnson and the United States.

Urban and Rural Poverty.

To the Congress of the United States:

I. THE CHALLENGE

"The slum is as old as civilization. Civilization implies a race to get ahead. In a race there are usually some who for one cause or another cannot keep up, or are thrust out from among their fellows. They fall behind, and when they have been left far in the rear they lose hope and ambition, and give up. Thenceforward, if left to their own resources, they are the victims, not the masters,

March 14, 1967

of their encironmevnt; and it is a bad master. . . . The bad environment becomes the heredity of the next generation."

These are the words of Jacob Riis, the Danish immigrant and American reformer, written in 1902. We may wish that those words applied only to the America of 1902-but clearly they apply to the America of the 1960's as well. They describe conditions in parts of every large American city and in pockets of poverty throughout rural America where 43 percent of the Nation's poor live.

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