[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 318 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 318
Recognizing the importance of the 70th anniversary of the signing of
the Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Republic of
Korea on October 1, 1953.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 24, 2023
Ms. Meng (for herself, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Meeks, Mrs. Kim of California,
Mr. Bera, Mrs. Steel, Mr. Kim of New Jersey, Mr. Carter of Georgia, and
Ms. Strickland) submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the importance of the 70th anniversary of the signing of
the Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Republic of
Korea on October 1, 1953.
Whereas, on October 1, 1953, the Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States
and the Republic of Korea (5 U.S.T. 2368) was signed in Washington, to
which the Senate provided its advice and consent to ratification on
January 26, 1954;
Whereas the shared commitment to recognize an armed attack on either of the
parties as dangerous to the peace and security of the other and to ``act
to meet the common danger in accordance with [each's] constitutional
processes'' remains in place today;
Whereas the United States and Korea established diplomatic relations on May 22,
1882, with the signing of the Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce and
Navigation, and reestablished its diplomatic relationship with the
``Republic of Korea'' on March 25, 1949;
Whereas, in 2023, the United States-Republic of Korea alliance marks 70 years
since the cessation of hostilities in the Korean war and the signing of
the Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953, which remains in place today
and that by its terms has neither formally ended the Korean war nor
constituted a permanent settlement of peace on the Korean Peninsula;
Whereas the United States-Republic of Korea alliance is the linchpin of peace,
security, and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific
region and is essential to confronting the threat posed by the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea;
Whereas the United States-Republic of Korea alliance is rooted in mutual trust,
shared sacrifice, common values, economic interests, and generations of
people-to-people ties that provide a foundation for one of the
strongest, most interoperable, and enduring bilateral alliances in the
world;
Whereas the United States assures its ironclad security commitment to the
Republic of Korea, including the United States extended deterrent
underpinned by the full range of United States capabilities;
Whereas the United States-Republic of Korea alliance was forged in shared
sacrifice, with 1,789,000 United States soldiers, sailors, airmen, and
marines serving during the Korean war, of whom 36,574 paid the ultimate
sacrifice with their lives in defense of the Republic of Korea,
including 7,174 Korean Augmentation to the United States Army soldiers,
and over 7,500 members of the United States Armed Forces remain
classified by the Department of Defense as missing in action;
Whereas casualties of the Republic of Korea were more than 217,000 soldiers
killed, more than 291,000 wounded, and over 1,000,000 civilians killed
or missing;
Whereas the Republic of Korea has since its founding become a thriving democracy
with a vibrant press and commitment to the rule of law and a free market
economy;
Whereas the United States-Republic of Korea Security Consultative Meeting met on
November 3, 2022, in the District of Columbia and ``shared their common
understanding that the U.S.-ROK Alliance is based on the same principles
and shared values including: mutual trust, freedom, democracy, human
rights, and the rule of law'';
Whereas the United States and the Republic of Korea are committed to pursuing
closely coordinated diplomatic efforts through a shared strategy to
achieve the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of
North Korea and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula;
Whereas the Republic of Korea's 2022 Strategy for a Free, Peaceful, and
Prosperous Indo-Pacific Region emphasizes its desire to be a global
pivotal state that commits ``to working with other key nations both
within and beyond the region to foster a free and peaceful region . . .
while strengthening the rules-based international order'';
Whereas President Yoon Suk Yeol took the courageous and bold step of announcing
that the Government of the Republic of Korea would compensate Korean
victims of Japanese wartime labor in order to facilitate the resolution
of an issue that has hampered cooperation with Japan;
Whereas a robust and effective trilateral relationship between and among the
United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan is critical for joint
security and interests in defending freedom and democracy, upholding
human rights, promoting peace, security, and the rule of law in the
Indo-Pacific and across the globe, championing women's empowerment, and
combating and adapting to complex environmental challenges;
Whereas the American and Korean people share deeply rooted values of defending
freedom, championing economic and social opportunity and inclusion,
upholding human rights, and respecting the rule of law;
Whereas, the United States, Republic of Korea, and Japan have held a series of
trilateral meetings, including a trilateral leaders' summit on November
13, 2022, a Foreign Ministers' meeting on September 23, 2022, and a vice
ministerial meeting on February 13, 2023, at which the three countries
committed to continuing trilateral exercises on ballistic missile
defense and antisubmarine warfare, and further determined to explore new
areas of security cooperation, including sharing Democratic People's
Republic of Korea missile warning data in real time;
Whereas the Republic of Korea is the United States sixth largest goods trading
partner with $162,900,000,000 in total (two-way) goods trade and
$31,500,000,000 in total services trade for a combined $194,400,000,000
during 2021;
Whereas the Republic of Korea is one of the United States top sources of foreign
direct investment, which totaled $110,600,000,000 in 2021 and, according
to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Republic of Korea multinational
enterprises in the United States employed almost 84,000 employees in
2020;
Whereas United States-Republic of Korea economic partnership based on the
principle of joint prosperity was strengthened in 2012 with the signing
of the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement;
Whereas, on May 21, 2022, the United States and the Republic of Korea agreed to
leverage the comparative advantage shared between the United States and
the Republic of Korea ``to enhance public and private cooperation to
protect and promote critical and emerging technologies, including
leading-edge semiconductors, ecofriendly EV batteries, Artificial
Intelligence, quantum technology, biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and
autonomous robotics'';
Whereas the strength of the United States-Republic of Korea relationship is due
in large part to the approximately 2,500,000 Korean Americans that have
made significant contributions to every facet of American society and
leadership to now include 4 Members of the House of Representatives,
Andy Kim of New Jersey, Young Kim of California, Marilyn Strickland of
Washington, and Michelle Steel of California; and
Whereas, in April 2023, President Moon Yoon Suk Yeol will visit the United
States at the invitation of President Joe Biden: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) welcomes President Yoon Suk Yeol to the United States
and urges both sides to use the occasion of this state visit to
further deepen the close security, economic, and people-to-
people ties between the United States and the Republic of
Korea;
(2) reaffirms the importance of the United States-Republic
of Korea relationship as the linchpin to safeguarding peace,
security, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and as a
critical component of peace in the Indo-Pacific region;
(3) reaffirms the United States extended deterrence
commitments to the Republic of Korea, and that the United
States will continue to ensure that its policy and posture
reflects the requirements of extended deterrence;
(4) supports ongoing efforts to further strengthen,
broaden, and deepen the ironclad United States-Republic of
Korea alliance, including the United States-Republic of Korea
Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting (2+2), the Security
Consultative Meeting, and the Extended Deterrence Strategy and
Consultation Group (2+2) to confront threats to the peace and
safety of both nations, and to stand together for the common
values and shared interests that unite us;
(5) calls for continued cooperation between the Governments
of the United States and the Republic of Korea in the promotion
of human rights;
(6) supports the Republic of Korea's engagement in regional
diplomacy, including the launching of the ROK-ASEAN Solidarity
Initiative, participation in the Minerals Security Partnership,
joining of the Partners in the Blue Pacific, and its hosting of
a summit with Pacific Island nations;
(7) endorses further Republic of Korea engagement with the
Quad initiatives, particularly in the Quad Climate Working
Group that works to strengthen implementation of the Paris
Agreement and to cooperate on climate mitigation, adaptation,
resilience, technology, capacity building, and finance;
(8) calls for close coordination to achieve the
denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
and the establishment of a permanent and lasting peace on the
Korean Peninsula;
(9) encourages close cooperation among the United States,
the Republic of Korea, and Japan to address shared challenges;
and
(10) recognizes the deep partnership forged over 70 years
since the signing of the Mutual Defense Treaty that has
provided security for both countries, established a durable
trust, undergirded the rules-based-order in the Indo-Pacific,
and demonstrated the benefits of robust democracies on both
sides of the Pacific.
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