[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 18 (Tuesday, February 14, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   COMMENDING THE LAUNCH OF SAEMSORI

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES A. LEACH

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 14, 2006

  Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to 
congratulate the Eugene Bell Foundation, the Korean American Coalition 
of the Midwest, and other involved churches, community leaders and 
organizations on the occasion of their launch of the Saemsori 
initiative last week. By seeking to promote reunion between Korean-
Americans and their family members in North Korea, it is a project with 
potential ramifications that are both personal and global.
  As Members of this body are well aware, there currently exist many 
challenging issues between the United States and North Korea. In the 
current context, the most reasonable place to begin seeking a more 
positive dynamic is in the field of people-to-people relation. And the 
most natural and urgent way to seek those improvements is to pursue the 
reunion of Korean families. Although detailed statistics are not 
available, an estimated quarter of the 1.5 to 2 million strong Korean-
American community have familial and historical ties to the North. The 
pains of separation are felt acutely by many Americans.
  One of the most unique aspects of our Nation is that we are a society 
of immigrants with ties to many parts of the world. Traditionally, 
second and third generation American citizens have taken the lead in 
advising Congress and the executive branch on ways and means of forging 
closer, more mutually beneficial relations with their ancestral 
homelands, and in focusing American concern on the circumstances and 
challenges facing their former countrymen. In our unique, citizen-
centered democracy, leadership on initiatives eventually undertaken by 
any administration often comes from outside government.
  For this reason, I believe that the launch of Saemsori is an 
appropriate occasion to reflect on the singular role that Korean-
American churches, civic organizations, and business leaders are 
playing in the way that the United States relates to the entire Korean 
peninsula, both North and South. Those who pursue reunion for the sake 
of their families are reflecting basic American values and rendering a 
service to the imperative of peaceful relations between peoples of the 
world.

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