[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 28, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E75]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA AND THE UNITED STATES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 28, 2003

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce and 
discuss a Concurrent Resolution concerning North Korea. It calls on 
North Korea and the United States, in a demonstration of good faith, to 
return to an interim level of compliance with the Agreed Framework.
  Once both nations have agreed that this is an acceptable starting 
point, diplomatic negotiations can begin, and we can work together to 
develop a more comprehensive and mutually acceptable agreement or 
treaty.
  Last year, when North Korea admitted that it has been operating a 
covert nuclear weapons program, I immediately introduced a Resolution 
condemning those actions and calling on North Korea and the United 
States to honor their commitments in the Agreed Framework.
  The existence of a North Korean nuclear weapons program constitutes a 
real and imminent threat to the populations of South Korea, and Japan, 
and certainly to the U.S. forces stationed in those countries.
  I was certain then, as I am now, that our wisest course of action was 
to meet our obligations under the Agreed Framework and continue monthly 
heavy fuel oil shipments to North Korea. I was also certain that if we 
did not honor our commitments, tensions between our two nations would 
rise at an alarming rate.
  Regrettably, my Resolution was neither considered nor adopted in the 
107th Congress. And indeed, the situation with North Korea has gone 
from bad to worse.
  I have watched incredulously as this Administration has stumbled 
again and again, making a bad situation worse, because it has failed to 
develop even the rudimentary beginnings of a policy to deal with North 
Korea.
  Enough is enough. Between our poorly defined declaration of war 
against terrorism and our imminent war with Iraq, we have all the 
conflict we can handle.
  The crisis in North Korea is a serious one, and I don't for a moment 
believe that resuming an interim level of compliance with the Agreed 
Framework will be the end of it.
  However, I do believe that we must do something to resolve this 
impasse and we must also do something to garner support for those 
nations most effected by North Korea's nuclear weapons capabilities--
South Korea, Japan, and China.
  If, in a show of good faith, we resume our obligations, we will be 
much more likely to have the support of those nations if sanctions are 
necessary in the future.
  The responsibility for complying with treaty obligations rests with 
the two nations that signed the Agreed Framework--the United States and 
North Korea.
  The responsibility for certifying that North Korea is in compliance 
with its portion of the Agreed Framework rests with the IAEA.
  The responsibility for determining appropriate sanctions if North 
Korea fails to comply with its portions of the Agreed Framework rests 
with the United Nations.
  It's that simple.
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. I believe it will 
establish our nation as a leader in seeking diplomatic solutions to 
complicated problems and will be the first step in a developing a 
policy with North Korea that is achievable, attainable, and supportable 
by other nations as well.

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