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