Stephens vows to efforts to bolster Seoul-Washington alliance By Lee Chi-dong

INCHEON, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- New U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen
Stephens said Tuesday that she will make her utmost efforts to bring the
Seoul-Washington alliance to a new level.
"I will listen to the voices of the South Korean government and people," she said
in her statement that she read in Korean to local media shortly after arriving at
an airport here to take her post. "As the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, I will
also make every effort to explain the U.S. government's position."
The envoy pointed out the two nations face a host of pending issues, including
the North Korean nuclear issue and the ratification of the bilateral free trade
agreement, stressing the importance of close cooperation to handle them.
Her arrival here was an emotional comeback for the envoy known for her close
personal ties to South Korea. She taught English in a rural town in southern
South Korea for three years from 1975 as a Peace Corps volunteer.
She said the experience in Korea inspired her to become a diplomat.
She used a Korean proverb to describe South Korea's economic and democratic growth.
"The Koreans have a saying: Even the rivers and mountains change in ten years,"
she said. "But South Korea remains a key ally of the U.S. and a main player in
the region."
Stephens said that recent massive street protests against the imports of U.S.
beef demonstrated how the country's democracy has developed.
She also said she will try to help address the human rights abuse in North Korea
as an envoy who has "such deep personal feeling" about Korea.
"This is a very high priority for me," she said.
After joining the U.S. foreign service in 1978, she worked as principal officer
at the consulate in Busan in 1987-1989 and as an internal political unit chief in
1984-1987 at the embassy in Seoul.