[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 25 (Friday, February 15, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H555-H558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONDEMNING NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR TEST
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
resolution (H. Res. 65) condemning the Government of North Korea for
its flagrant and repeated violations of multiple United Nations
Security Council resolutions, for its repeated provocations that
threaten international peace and stability, and for its February 12,
2013, test of a nuclear device, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 65
Whereas, on February 12, 2013, North Korea exploded a
nuclear device;
Whereas reports indicate that the nuclear test was
apparently more powerful than North Korea's previous tests in
2006 and 2009;
Whereas North Korea's nuclear test, and its recent
ballistic missile test, are violations of United Nations
Security Council Resolution 1695 (2006), Resolution 1718
(2006), Resolution 1874 (2009), and Resolution 2087 (2013);
Whereas North Korea's ballistic missile program poses a
threat to United States allies and interests in the Asia
Pacific region;
Whereas North Korea's ballistic missile program has
demonstrated an increasing ability to reach the United
States, and could constitute a grave threat to the security
of the American people;
Whereas North Korea has violated the July 27, 1953,
Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War, and has since
committed unprovoked acts of war against South Korea by
sinking the warship Cheonan, killing 46 of her crew, and by
attacking civilian targets on the island of Yeongpyeong,
killing four residents, among many other willful violations
and outrages;
Whereas the Government of North Korea has been implicated
repeatedly in the illicit laundering of monetary instruments,
in international narcotics trafficking, and in the
counterfeiting of United States currency and intellectual
property;
Whereas North Korea has demonstrated a willingness and
ability to proliferate its ballistic and nuclear technology
to a variety of countries, including Iran and Syria, both
United States designated state sponsors of terrorism;
Whereas the Government of North Korea commits gross human
rights violations against the North Korean people, including
maintaining a system of gulags that imprison thousands of
citizens, and policies that have resulted in starvation
deaths of over 2,000,000 people; and
Whereas the Government of North Korea has repeatedly
violated its commitments to the complete, verifiable, and
irreversible dismantlement of its nuclear weapons program,
including the Agreed Framework of 1994, the Joint Statement
of September 19, 2005, and the agreement of February 13,
2007: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the Government of North Korea for its flagrant
and repeated violations of multiple United Nations Security
Council resolutions, for its repeated provocations that
threaten international peace and stability, and for its
February 12, 2013, test of a nuclear device;
(2) expresses solidarity with the people of North Korea who
suffer severe oppression, denial of basic human rights and
political liberties, and material deprivation;
(3) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to its
alliances with Japan and South Korea, which are critical for
the preservation of peace and stability in Northeast Asia and
throughout the region;
(4) calls upon the People's Republic of China, North
Korea's closest ally and trading partner, to pressure North
Korean leaders to curtail their provocative behavior, abandon
and dismantle their nuclear and missile programs through the
curtailing of vital economic support and trade to North Korea
that support the Government of North Korea, and comply with
all relevant international agreements and United Nations
Security Council and International Atomic Energy Agency
resolutions;
(5) calls on the People's Republic of China to take
immediate actions to prevent the transshipment of illicit
technology, military equipment, and dual-use items through
its territory, waters, and airspace that could be used in
North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs;
and
(6) calls on the United States Government--
(A) to apply all available sanctions on North Korea,
cooperate with United States allies and other countries to
impose additional sanctions on North Korea, and secure a new
United Nations Security Council resolution imposing stronger
sanctions;
(B) to utilize aggressively the range of available legal
authorities and resources to defend United States interests
against North Korean illicit activities; and
(C) to support the President's commitment to strengthen the
United States ballistic missile defense system to protect the
United States.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) each
will control 20 minutes.
The chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have
5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include
extraneous materials on this resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
What I want to share with the body is that, on February 12 of 2013,
North Korea successfully carried out a nuclear test--a test in flagrant
violation of numerous international sanctions and of numerous
agreements that North Korea has made in the past.
This test, which is the third time that North Korea has exploded a
nuclear device, is a stark reminder that Kim Jong Un is determined to
develop his nuclear arsenal while depriving North Koreans of their most
basic human rights. When I say their ``most basic human rights,'' we
had an opportunity to speak with the former propaganda minister of
North Korea, who told us that 1.9 million North Koreans starved while
this regime, in violating every agreement it had made with the
international community, plowed forward with a plan to develop nuclear
weapons.
North Korea has literally spent billions on its nuclear and its
three-stage ICBM program, and that is all money that could have
provided enough food to feed this country for years. If you've ever
been in North Korea, you've seen
[[Page H556]]
that the children there are malnourished. As a matter of fact, up to 50
percent of the children are so malnourished that it is estimated that
it's going to affect their future development and their ability to
really think conceptually because of the degree of deprivation there.
In the meantime, it also continues to build up its military. This
week's test comes only 2 months after the launch of a North Korean
intercontinental missile, leaving no doubt in my mind that decades of
fruitless negotiations, frankly, have been a failure.
North Korea is a pariah state that has attacked its neighbors many
times. Just last month, Ranking Member Eliot Engel of New York and I
had the opportunity to visit the wreckage of the South Korean naval
vessel Cheonan, and there we saw the evidence where 46 South Korean
sailors lost their lives in 2011--victim to a North Korean torpedo that
was fired at that ship. I cannot imagine the anguish that this
despicable act has caused for so many of those parents of those young
sailors in South Korea.
{time} 0920
The shared sacrifice that South Koreans and Americans have endured as
a result of North Korean aggression is a sacred, inseparable bond
between our two peoples. This resolution appropriately stands by South
Korea and Japan, our allies in northeast Asia.
As North Korea continues to disregard international norms, it's
important for this House to speak out, but we must do more. In the
coming weeks, I will introduce legislation that targets North Korea's
ability to access hard currency.
In my conversations with President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea and
President-elect Park Geun-hye, I have always stressed the importance of
targeted sanctions so that we can bring about change inside North
Korea. When dictators cannot pay their generals, they cannot test
nuclear weapons and launch missiles. This was an important lesson of
the financial sanctions we put on Banco Delta Asia and other banks in
the past that have dealt with the North Korean regimes; and, as a
result of that imposition at the time, it brought to a halt the ability
of the North Korean regime to pay its generals.
Mr. Speaker, America's policy on North Korea has been a bipartisan
failure. We can no longer just hope that North Korea is going to give
up its weapons in exchange for aid. It is time we come together to hold
this regime responsible for all the pain and suffering that it has
caused, and do so by imposing this access to hard currency restriction.
I cannot envision a scenario where Kim Jong Un voluntarily gives up the
one weapon that, frankly, keeps his dynasty in power.
Reports indicate that North Korea's nuclear program is getting more
powerful and its missiles are flying further. If North Korea is allowed
to continue down this path, frankly, we all lose. The time to act is
now.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
I rise in strong support of H. Res. 65, as amended. I would like to
thank our chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Royce, for his
leadership in addressing the threat posed by North Korea. I'm proud to
be the lead Democratic cosponsor of this resolution. I believe it's
very important for the House to speak with a strong bipartisan voice in
condemning North Korea's recent nuclear test.
This test was an unnecessary provocation that raises tensions in
northeast Asia and poses a threat to the national security of the
United States and our allies in the region. The test also violates
numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions, and I urge the Security
Council to promptly pass a new resolution with additional sanctions to
punish the North Korean regime.
In particular, I call on China and Russia to work constructively with
other members of the Security Council to show the world that the world
is united in opposing North Korea's unacceptable behavior. I recently
traveled to Asia with Chairman Royce, and this is one of the key issues
we discussed with senior Chinese leaders. China must do more. They're
the ones that can rein in North Korea. They must do so, and they must
do so immediately.
The North Korean regime must understand that the development of
ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons will never make it a strong and
prosperous nation. Instead of wasting millions of dollars on these
weapons of mass destruction, it should focus on feeding its own
impoverished people.
I have visited North Korea, the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang, on
two occasions, and I can tell you that the North Korean regime would do
better to help its own people, give them the things that they deserve,
rather than spend its time and money on exploding nuclear devices in
violation of what the international community believes. The new young
dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, must understand that the United
States and our allies will not stand idly by and allow them to
continuously violate what the international community thinks is
acceptable.
I agree with Chairman Royce that for too long they have played this
game. They have talked and talked and gone on and gone on and nothing
has really been done, and they continue to violate international law.
Unfortunately, Iran is playing the same game, and we cannot allow that
to happen either--Iran getting a nuclear weapon.
So given the threat posed by North Korea, the United States must
remain vigilant and further strengthen cooperation with our allies of
South Korea and Japan. As the chairman said, we were in South Korea
just a few days ago and we saw the evidence of provocation, of North
Korea torpedoing a ship from South Korea, killing 50-some-odd members
of the military of South Korea in an unprovoked attack. This is an
outlaw regime, and it really must be handled properly.
I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I just want to take a moment and thank Mr.
Engel for the forceful leadership that he gave us on this issue as we
were meeting with the Governments of China and Japan and South Korea.
Mr. Speaker, I would now yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), chairman of the Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa and our chairman
emeritus, who has been very engaged on North Korea policy.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I thank our esteemed chairman of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, as well as our ranking member, my good friend, Mr.
Engel of New York.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, authored by
Mr. Royce and Mr. Engel, condemning North Korea for its most recent
nuclear test.
Kim Jong Un, like his father and his grandfather before him,
continues to thumb his nose at the United States, at South Korea, and
Japan--indeed, the international community as a whole--by flagrantly
violating U.N. Security Council resolutions. Pyongyang continues to
pursue its goals of nuclear armament while leaving its citizens
malnourished, starving, and suffering from diseases.
Without an appropriate response, North Korea will continue to launch
rockets, as it did this past December, will continue to conduct nuclear
tests, and will continue to undermine U.S. national security interests,
as well as threaten our allies in the region. It is clear that North
Korea is not now, nor has it ever been, an honest broker and has never
lived up to its international obligations.
The time for engagement has long since passed, Mr. Speaker. Kim Jong
Un has made his priorities clear: to obtain a nuclear weapon and to
support, finance, and equip rogue regimes such as Iran and Syria. Such
support to these state sponsors of terrorism should be more than enough
for us in the United States to redesignate North Korea on the terrorist
list.
I introduced a bipartisan bill earlier this week, the North Korea
Sanctions and Diplomatic Nonrecognition Act of 2013, that would do
exactly that. This is a critical moment for our allies in Asia, and the
United States must reaffirm our unwavering support to our allies, South
Korea and Japan.
I urge my colleagues to join us in condemning North Korea for its
repeated provocations and violations of U.N. Security Council
resolutions.
[[Page H557]]
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. ROYCE. I yield the gentlelady an additional minute.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I thank the gentleman for the time.
So, therefore, I call upon the administration to take appropriate
action necessary and stand in solidarity with our South Korean and
Japanese allies as they continue to live under the increasing threat of
a nuclear North Korea.
I thank the chairman and the ranking member for their leadership on
this issue, and our Foreign Affairs Committee will continue to pursue
this terrible, vexing problem doggedly.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to say that we can
hear that Members on both sides of the aisle are speaking with one
voice in unison, and I urge, again, the Congress to speak on a
bipartisan basis to say that this is not acceptable and that we condemn
in the strongest possible terms what North Korea has done.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE. If I might yield, Mr. Speaker, 2 minutes to the gentleman
from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on
Asia and the Pacific.
{time} 0930
Mr. CHABOT. I'd like to add my voice to thanking the leadership,
Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, and former full chair, Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen, for their leadership on this very important issue.
I rise in strong support of this resolution condemning the actions of
a pariah state and its dictatorial leader for brazenly violating
international sanctions, multiple United Nations Security Council
resolutions, and repeatedly threatening the peace and stability of the
Korean Peninsula.
North Korea's test of a nuclear bomb on February 12, following its
test of a ballistic missile in December, was a clear indication that it
is continuing its quest for the ability to threaten the United States,
South Korea, and other neighbors in the region.
It has become evident that the current international sanctions are
not working, but rather, emboldening Pyongyang to expand its arsenal
and proliferate nuclear and ballistic technologies to dangerous allies
in the Middle East.
This resolution is only the first step in an effort to cripple the
North Korean regime's ability to carry on with its illicit nuclear
activities. I look forward to working with Chairman Royce and my
colleagues on additional legislation that puts in place much tougher
and more effective sanctions to sever Kim Jong Un's ability to threaten
the international community.
Mr. Speaker, the long-suffering people of North Korea are starving
and being deprived of the most basic of human rights while their latest
dictator squanders the nation's precious resources and threatens his
neighbors and the surrounding region. The civilized world must take
notice and take action.
I thank the chairman for his leadership on this issue, and I urge
support of the resolution.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would just like to urge my colleagues to support this
resolution condemning North Korea's nuclear test. This threat, I would
point out, is not just a threat to Northeast Asia; it's a global threat
that demands our attention.
North Korea has demonstrated a willingness--in the past they've
demonstrated a clear ability to proliferate nuclear and missile
technology. We think about their proliferation to countries, nuclear
proliferation to Syria. We think about their nuclear technology and
their missile technologies for proliferation to Iran.
We cannot wait for the next nuclear test, Mr. Speaker, or the news
that North Korea has successfully miniaturized a nuclear weapon. We
already saw the statement that this was a smaller nuclear weapon in the
past. We saw the official KCNA news outlet for the North Korean regime
make the statement that their target for their ICBM program was the
United States.
Lastly, many of us remember the video that came out last week, that
very odd video that shows a North Korean sleeping, dreaming about an
ICBM attack. The ICBM is launched. It ends up following the curvature
of the Earth and hitting New York City in this video with that very odd
background music playing. But it just shows an attitude.
I think that we cannot stand idle and tell ourselves that further
sanctions have no prospect of success, especially when we saw how
effective, for that brief period of time where the Treasury Department
was so concerned about the counterfeiting of $100 bills that they
actually forced deployment of those financial sanctions on those
institutions which the North Koreans used in order to have access to
hard currency.
We saw, at that time, the result and the protest from North Korea,
and the result inside North Korea when there was not the money to pay
the military or carry out the types of programs that they do in terms
of their missile and nuclear testing.
So it's time to be honest with the American people that, frankly, our
current North Korean policy is not working. It hasn't worked for a long
time. Going forward, we need to move away from that failed North Korean
policy to one with energy and creativity and focus. And I think we need
to learn from what worked in the past until, unfortunately, those
sanctions were lifted shortly after they were deployed because of the
protests from North Korea.
So let's tackle North Korea's illicit activities, its missile and
drug proliferation, where, between that and its counterfeit currency
program, that's how it gets close to 50 percent of its hard currency.
This regime will do anything for money, obviously. As South Koreans
will tell you, it's a gangster regime.
But let's interfere with those shipments. Let's disrupt the bank
accounts that are used. Let's ramp up the radio broadcasts into the
country, where there is evidence the information wall is cracking.
Thirty-seven percent of those people that flee the regime today say
they're listening to broadcasts or they're accessing information that
is telling them about what's happening in the outside world and what's
really going on in their own country. And that's the kind of
information we have to get into this regime.
Let's help the refugees who are literally dying to escape the prison
above the 38th parallel. Weakening the regime is the only way to make
the Korean Peninsula secure. So we must come together and do whatever
is necessary to deprive Kim Jong Un of his nuclear weapons.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res.
65 and I strongly condemn the most recent North Korea nuclear weapons
test.
It is unacceptable that the North Korean regime continues to ignore
repeated calls from the United Nations Security Council and the
international community to halt its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Despite
repeated overtures from the international community, the North Korean
regime continues to blatantly ignore all attempts to create a permanent
peace on the Korean Peninsula.
By conducting this nuclear weapons test, the North Korean regime has
decided to brazenly disregard the Agreed Framework of 1994, the Joint
Statement of September 19, 2005, the Agreement of February 13, 2007,
and four United Nations Security Council resolutions. On February 12,
2013 the United Nations Security Council met again and unanimously
condemned the North Korean regimes most recent nuclear weapons test.
This most recent test threatens to destabilize the entirety of
Northeast Asia and is a direct threat to U.S. national security. That
is why I encourage President Obama and the international community to
take swift action against this irresponsible and dangerous behavior. I
support new and stronger sanctions against North Korea to show that we
mean business. We cannot simply continue to expand previously passed
sanctions--they are not working.
My heart goes out to the people of North Korea. On a daily basis, the
North Korean people are subject to countless violations of their human
rights including forced labor, starvation and wrongful imprisonment.
Ignoring the plight of their own people, the North Korean regime would
rather continue to isolate themselves, instead of reengage the
international community to find meaningful and commonsense solutions.
It is my hope that for the sake of their starving people, that the
North Korean regime will halt any additional nuclear weapons tests.
[[Page H558]]
Mr. Speaker, as the proud Representative of one of the largest Korean
American populations in the country, many of whom fear for the safety
of their friends and family abroad, I urge my colleagues to support
this vital resolution. We must not stand idly by as North Korea
continues to threaten U.S. national security and our friends and allies
in the region.
Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, all of us condemn this reckless, provocative
nuclear test by North Korea. North Korea's pursuit of a nuclear
capability is destabilizing and not in the interest of the people of
that nation, who suffer daily under one of the worst dictatorships the
world has seen.
Yet even as we condemn this test and seek to prevent future ones, we
must not make the mistake of believing--as this resolution asserts--
that supporting more money for a ballistic missile defense system is
the answer. America has wasted literally tens of billions of dollars
since the 1980s in pursuit of a ballistic missile shield that is not
technically feasible and is viewed as destabilizing by our
international partners, especially Russia. While I support this
resolution's condemnation of North Korea's test, I do not support its
call for spending more money on a failed missile defense effort.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the rules
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 65, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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