[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 175 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 175

 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 26, 2023

 Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Risch, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Romney, Mr. 
 Kaine, Mr. Hagerty, Mr. Ossoff, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Schatz, Ms. Hirono, 
     and Mr. Hoeven) submitted the following resolution; which was 
                        considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               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, 
        D.C., 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 party'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 the United States 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 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 (DPRK);
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, including 
        nuclear 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 (KATUSA) 
        soldiers, and the over 7,500 members of the United States Armed Forces 
        that 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 Washington, D.C. 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 development, upholding human rights, and 
        respecting the rule of law;
Whereas the United States, the 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 anti-submarine warfare, and further determined to 
        explore new areas of security cooperation, including sharing DPRK 
        missile warning data in real time;
Whereas the Republic of Korea is the United States' seventh 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 
        in 2021, and is one of the United States top sources of Foreign Direct 
        Investment (FDI), which totaled $110,600,000,000 in 2021 and, according 
        to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, South Korea multinational 
        enterprises (MNEs) in the United States employed almost 84,000 employees 
        in 2020;
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 four 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 Yoon Suk Yeol will visit the United States at 
        the invitation of President Joseph R. Biden: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (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 our nations;
            (2) reaffirms the importance of the United States-Republic 
        of Korea alliance as the linchpin to safeguarding peace, 
        security, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and 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, 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, the Republic of Korea's participation in the 
        Minerals Security Partnership, its 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 Quad 
        initiatives;
            (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 
        underpinned security for both countries, established a durable 
        trust, undergirded the free and open order in the Indo-Pacific, 
        and demonstrated the benefits of robust democracies on both 
        sides of the Pacific.
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