[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11361]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 COMMENDING PRESIDENT KIM DAE-JUNG ON HIS HISTORIC QUEST FOR PEACE AND 
                             RECONCILIATION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 19, 2000

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend President Kim Dae-Jung of 
the Republic of Korea for his historic efforts toward peace and 
reconciliation on the Korean peninsula.
  By extending the hand of friendship in summit meetings with Chairman 
Kim Jong II of the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea, President Kim 
Dae-Jung has shown himself as a courageous visionary committed to the 
improvement of relations with the North. The agreement reached by the 
two leaders on humanitarian and economic cooperation represent a bold 
step toward resolving a half-century of conflict.
  As we prepare to depart on a Presidential Mission to Korea to 
commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Korean War, I am filled with 
hope for the future of all the peoples of that great land.
  On behalf of president Clinton and the people of the United States, I 
join with my former comrades-in-arms, the men of the 503d Field 
Artillery Battalion who fought in defense of freedom and democracy in 
Korea in extending our congratulations to President Kim Dae-Jung and 
our best wishes for success in his great mission of peace.

                          ____________________