[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18374-18377]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1840
         CONDEMNING NORTH KOREA FOR ATTACK AGAINST SOUTH KOREA

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 1735) condemning North Korea in the strongest terms 
for its unprovoked military attack against South Korea on November 23, 
2010.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1735

       Whereas Yeonpyeong Island is a South Korean island in the 
     Yellow Sea, inhabited by over 1,000 South Korean civilians 
     and military personnel;
       Whereas, on November 23, 2010, at approximately 2:34 p.m. 
     local time, the North Korean military began firing artillery 
     shells at Yeonpyeong Island;
       Whereas North Korea fired over 100 artillery shells, 
     causing considerable harm and damage;
       Whereas the artillery barrage killed 2 South Korean 
     marines, 2 civilians, and wounded at least 19 others;
       Whereas the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group is 
     conducting exercises with Republic of Korea naval forces in 
     the waters west of the Korean Peninsula;
       Whereas North Korea's shelling of Yeonpyeong Island follows 
     the hostile torpedo attack against the South Korean naval 
     vessel Cheonan on March 26, 2010, that killed 46 sailors;
       Whereas the North Korean artillery barrage was one of the 
     most serious attacks on civilians since the Korean War, and 
     press reports indicate the highest levels of North Korea's 
     government ordered the attack;
       Whereas the recent disclosure of a newly operational North 
     Korean uranium enrichment plant is a violation of United 
     Nations Security Council Resolutions 1695 (2006), 1718 
     (2006), and 1874 (2009); and
       Whereas the United States is firmly committed to the 
     defense of South Korea and to the maintenance of regional 
     peace and stability: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) condemns North Korea in the strongest terms for its 
     unprovoked military attack against South Korea in violation 
     of the Korean War Armistice Agreement and for causing 
     civilian casualties;
       (2) calls for North Korea to renounce further acts of 
     aggression and abide by the terms of the Korean War Armistice 
     Agreement and its international obligations;
       (3) expresses its deep condolences and sympathy to the 
     South Korean victims and their families;
       (4) stands in solidarity with the people and Government of 
     the Republic of Korea at this time of national crisis;
       (5) reaffirms its strong commitment to the alliance between 
     the United States and the Republic of Korea, the security of 
     South Korea, and stability on the Korean Peninsula;
       (6) supports further close, security cooperation between 
     the United States and the Republic of Korea;
       (7) encourages continued dialogue and cooperation between 
     the United States and United States allies and other 
     countries in the region in the interests of enhancing peace 
     and security in the Asia-Pacific region;
       (8) calls on China to restrain North Korea, its treaty 
     ally, from further acts of belligerence and to work 
     constructively with the international community to promote 
     regional stability;
       (9) calls upon North Korea to immediately cease any and all 
     uranium enrichment activities and take concrete steps to 
     dismantle, under international verification and assistance, 
     all sensitive nuclear facilities, in accordance with United 
     Nations Security Council Resolutions 1695 (2006), 1718 
     (2006), and 1874 (2009); and
       (10) urges responsible nations to abide by United Nations 
     Security Council Resolutions 1695, 1718, and 1874, and to 
     fully implement the sanctions and other obligations contained 
     therein.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Berman) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) each 
will control 20 minutes.

[[Page 18375]]

  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, 
and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  A little over a week ago on November 23, North Korea launched a 
brazen daytime artillery barrage on a South Korean island inhabited by 
civilians. North Korea fired over 100 rounds at Yeonpyeong Island, 
killing two South Korean civilians and two young Marines. The shelling 
also caused considerable damage to the island.
  This provocative military act by North Korea was one of the most 
serious attacks involving civilians since the end of the Korean War and 
is in violation of the Armistice Agreement.
  This bipartisan resolution strongly condemns North Korea's unprovoked 
attack, calls on the North to renounce further acts of aggression and 
abide by the terms of the Armistice Agreement.
  I would also like to express my deepest sympathies and condolences to 
the South Korean victims and their families.
  This resolution expresses the House of Representatives' firm 
solidarity with the people and the government of South Korea. We stand 
shoulder-to-shoulder with them at this time of national crisis.
  This resolution also expresses support for the continued close 
security cooperation between the United States and South Korea and for 
the alliance between our two nations. Indeed, a U.S. aircraft carrier 
strike group is currently conducting exercises with the South Korean 
Navy in waters west of the Korean Peninsula. This exercise demonstrates 
the strength of the alliance and of U.S. commitment to regional 
stability through deterrence.
  The United States is committed to the security of South Korea, 
maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula, and ensuring peace in 
Northeast Asia. We are ready to encourage cooperation and dialogue with 
our allies and other countries in the region to promote peace and 
security in the Asia-Pacific.
  Last week's artillery attack was just the latest in a long line of 
provocations by North Korea. The recent revelations about a new North 
Korean uranium enrichment facility are very troubling, as it will 
enable North Korea to again expand its nuclear arsenal.
  The construction of this enrichment facility is a clear violation of 
Security Council resolutions that were passed in 2006 and 2009. We call 
on North Korea to cease its uranium enrichment activities, take 
concrete steps to dismantle all of its nuclear facilities, and fully 
and transparently abide by the relevant Security Council resolutions.
  Finally, this resolution urges China to restrain North Korea from 
further acts of belligerence and to work constructively with the rest 
of the world to promote lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula and 
stability in Northeast Asia.
  A longtime treaty ally of the North, China can clearly exercise 
significant leverage on that nation. No one wants to see another war on 
the Korean Peninsula, but North Korea must understand that its actions 
have consequences, that it cannot violate the Armistice, kill innocent 
civilians and break its international obligations.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in strong, vigorous support of this resolution condemning the 
continued belligerent behavior of North Korea. Pyongyang's brinkmanship 
threatens the peace and security of not only the Korean Peninsula but 
the whole region.
  The artillery shelling of a South Korean island last week was the 
first such attack directed at civilians since the Korean War in the 
1950s. We join our South Korean allies in mourning the deaths of both 
civilians and young Marines and offer our sincere condolences to the 
victims' families.
  In addressing another Korean crisis, as a presidential candidate 
almost six decades ago, Dwight Eisenhower said, ``In this anxious 
autumn for America one fact looms above all others in our people's 
minds. One tragedy challenges all men dedicated to the work of peace. 
This word is Korea.''
  For the shelling which we condemn today, and the treacherous attack 
on civilians, is merely the tip of the North Korean spear of hostility.
  Another revelation came a mere week earlier of a North Korean secret 
uranium enrichment plant, a revelation described by a visiting American 
physicist as ``stunning.''
  The plant also laid bare the duplicity, deceit, and treachery with 
which North Korea has approached the whole denuclearization issue for 
the past 20 years.
  The unconscionable revelations of classified information in the past 
few days by WikiLeaks have nonetheless opened our eyes to the full 
extent of the North Korean cooperation with the little tyrant from the 
desert, Ahdmadinejad, and the Iranian regime on missile technology. 
Thanks to Pyongyang's proliferation, Iranian warheads, possibly 
carrying a nuclear payload, can now reach American allies in the Middle 
East and even as far away as Europe.
  We have also learned that Air Iran transports landed at a Beijing 
airport to carry missile equipment from North Korea to Iran. There is 
indeed a North Korean-Iranian axis of evil with malice toward mankind. 
Its linkage runs right through the heart of Beijing, China.
  Does China, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, have no 
guilt or have no shame when it blatantly disregards the Security 
Council's resolutions directed at both Pyongyang and Tehran?
  In that anxious autumn of 1952, Dwight Eisenhower pointed to his 
World War II experience as a roadmap for dealing with the dictators of 
Pyongyang. ``I know something of this totalitarian mind,'' the General 
said. ``Through the years of World War II, I carried a heavy burden of 
decision in the free world's crusade against the tyranny then 
threatening us all.
  ``World War II should have taught us all one lesson. The lesson is 
this: to vacillate, to hesitate, to appease--even by merely betraying 
unsteady purpose--is to feed the dictator's appetite for conquest and 
to invite war itself.''
  Without firm resolve, more Six Party tea parties in Beijing, as 
proposed by China, will prove as meaningless as those that have 
occurred in the past. Beijing must come to understand and clearly 
demonstrate that it will no longer provide diplomatic, economic, and 
even military cover for Pyongyang's dangerously recklessly behavior.
  From the Mediterranean to the Yellow Sea, through missiles and 
artillery, North Korea has become an increasing threat to the peace and 
the stability of the community of all nations. China must firmly rein 
in its out-of-control puppet state before events spiral completely out 
of control.
  The risks are grave, Mr. Speaker. Our resolve must be firm as we 
stand with our South Korean allies in their hour of potential peril. I 
urge my colleagues to give their vigorous support to this resolution, 
which I am proud to be a cosponsor.
  I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1850

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to a very 
distinguished member of our committee, the gentleman from Tennessee 
(Mr. Tanner).
  Mr. TANNER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  I, too, want to express my appreciation for this resolution. I am 
proud to be a cosponsor. After this event happened, this unprovoked 
attack by the North on the island, my son and I communicated with a 
good friend of ours in Korea and learned of some of the devastation and 
so on. This is a serious matter. This resolution speaks in, I think,

[[Page 18376]]

excellent detail as to what we expect in terms of activity by the 
North. And I want to again thank Chairman Berman and Mr. Poe and others 
who have brought this to the floor.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from Hawaii (Mr. Djou).
  Mr. DJOU. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, my congressional district potentially lies in the flight 
arc of North Korea's ballistic missiles. Should anything happen in the 
Korean Peninsula and deteriorate to war, it is the soldiers, sailors, 
and airmen in my congressional district at Pearl Harbor, Hickam Air 
Force Base, and Schofield Barracks who will be the first ones called 
into action on the Korean Peninsula.
  The United States must make a firm and clear commitment not only to 
condemn these belligerent acts by North Korea, but also firmly commit 
our Nation to unifying the Korean Peninsula under a free, democratic, 
and capitalist regime. Our Nation must make a commitment to a unified, 
free, and capitalist Korea in the same fashion that we committed to a 
united, free, and capitalist Germany during the Cold War.
  During this past year, the North Korean Government has shown its 
unwarranted, unprovoked attacks on South Korea by illegally seizing a 
South Korean fishing vessel and illegally sinking a South Korean naval 
vessel. And now the shelling of a South Korean island, unprovoked, 
shows that the North Korean regime cannot be trusted and must be 
changed.
  This is why it is so important the United States commit to a quick 
and prompt passage of a free trade agreement between the United States 
and South Korea, and through the passage of this resolution. We must 
strengthen our bonds between the United States and South Korea to stand 
as a bulwark against the aggressive and repressive North Korean 
Government.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to speak and urge 
passage of this resolution.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to my friend 
and colleague from the committee, as well as the Financial Services and 
Agriculture Committee, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott).
  Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Thank you very much, Chairman Berman.
  This unwarranted attack by North Korea on South Korea demonstrates 
more than anything else the dangerous state that our world is in. It is 
extraordinarily important that we here in Congress condemn in the 
strongest possible way this act, unprovoked on the part of North Korea, 
and to let the people of South Korea and the people of the world know 
just where the United States stands. We stand strongly and firmly with 
our ally South Korea and condemn this unwarranted, gross, unjustified 
attack on South Korea. I commend Chairman Berman for bringing this 
important resolution to the floor.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), who is the ranking member of the Foreign 
Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank my good friend for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to rise in strong support of H. Res. 1735, 
condemning North Korea's unprovoked shelling of the South Korean island 
of Yeonpyeong on November 23. I want to thank my good friend and 
colleague Chairman Berman and Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for 
introducing the resolution. And I, too, like Mr. Poe and others, am 
very proud to be a cosponsor.
  Mr. Speaker, with this resolution, we extend our deep condolences and 
sympathy to the families of those killed and injured in the attack. 
It's especially fitting that we as Americans do this since, along with 
the tremendous sacrifices for freedom made by the people of South 
Korea, we have lost tens of thousands of Americans in that same cause.
  Mr. Speaker, since the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island was an act of 
aggression committed against an ally, the resolution also rightly 
affirms our alliance with South Korea, supports further cooperation on 
security matters, and calls on China to use its influence to restrain 
North Korea.
  Mr. Speaker, it's important to remember that North Korea's aggression 
toward South Korea has almost been nonstop since 1950. It has taken the 
form of either full-scale war or, since 1953, sporadic shelling and 
shooting and skirmishing near the DMZ, or tunnelling under the DMZ, or 
seizing the Pueblo, an American vessel, in 1968, or kidnapping South 
Koreans abroad, or torpedoing the Cheonan, a South Korean vessel, in 
March of this year.
  Similarly, since 1950, the North Korean Government has treated its 
own citizenry with profound disrespect and outright hostility. It makes 
normal human relations impossible for them by creating a system in 
which parents and children, friends and relatives are forced to spy and 
report on each other--an atmosphere of total distrust, total fear, and 
total social atomization.
  It terrorizes them into worshipping the Kims, father and son, as if 
they were gods. Their personality cult is the only religion permitted 
in North Korea. Economic life is such madness that, about 10 years ago, 
as many as 2 million North Koreans starved to death. And within this 
large gulag that is North Korea, the Kim family has created smaller, 
more severe gulags, Kwan-li-so prison camps, and sent an estimated 
200,000 people to live or, better stated, survive in them. Here we move 
from the nightmare of everyday life into a veritable hell on Earth, 
where forced labor, near starvation, rape, and the cruelest forms of 
torture prevail, and forced abortion and chemical experimentation on 
inmates is commonplace.
  Mr. Speaker, our government must continue to stand in solidarity with 
all those threatened and terrorized by the monstrous Government of 
North Korea, and with the residents of Yeonpyeong Island, and with all 
the people of both South and North Korea. I urge strong support for the 
resolution.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from Tennessee, Dr. Roe.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
resolution condemning North Korea's act of aggression toward South 
Korea. Thirty-seven years ago, I was stationed in Korea, within an 
artillery shell of the DMZ. I have seen firsthand and up close what 
freedom can do. When I arrived there, it was a military dictatorship. 
Today, you have a market economy with a freely elected democracy that's 
being attacked relentlessly, as other speakers have said, by the rogue 
nation in the North.
  I can't emphasize strong enough how important it is for us to act 
decisively against this act of aggression against a free nation. And I 
want to associate my remarks also with all of the speakers that have 
been here today. I also want to call on China to exert every bit of 
pressure they can on the rogue nation of North Korea. I urge my 
colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. BERMAN. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POE of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, the United Nations reports that North Korea 
trades in missiles and nuclear technology with not only Syria and Iran, 
but even Burma. And this is a grave situation since China won't do 
anything, and North Korea takes our western money with the empty 
promises of peace, but still rattles its sabers and soon will rattle 
its nuclear weapons.

                              {time}  1900

  The United States must finally adopt a policy that holds both North 
Korea and China accountable for their belligerent actions against South 
Korea and the free world.
  I do want to thank the chairman for bringing this strong resolution 
to the House floor. I urge all my colleagues to adopt this resolution.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this saber-rattling 
resolution that unnecessarily escalates tensions between North and

[[Page 18377]]

South Korea and may in fact put U.S. troops stationed in the area at 
risk. This resolution portrays the recent hostilities between the two 
Koreas as ``an unprovoked military attack'' by North Korea, which is 
untrue. We know that South Korea was conducting live fire military 
exercises in the vicinity of disputed territory and that this action, 
taken with U.S. military support and participation, likely led to the 
exchange of gunfire between the two sides.
  As the resolution states, the ``USS George Washington Carrier Strike 
Group is conducting exercises with Republic of Korea naval forces in 
the waters west of the Korean Peninsula.'' Let us for a moment imagine 
the Chinese military holding joint exercises with Venezuela off the 
Texas coast. Might that be viewed as provocative by the United States? 
This is not to excuse or endorse the actions of the North Korean 
military, which are certainly regrettable, but it is important to 
accurately portray the events.
  This resolution is long on inaccuracies and hyperbole but it avoids 
the real issue, which is why, more than fifty years after the end of 
the Korean war, the American taxpayer is still forced to pay for the 
U.S. military to defend a modern and wealthy South Korea. The continued 
presence of the U.S. military as a ``tripwire'' to deter North Korea is 
ineffective and dangerous. It is designed to deter renewed hostilities 
by placing American lives between the two factions. As we have seen 
recently, South Korean leaders, emboldened by the U.S. protection, seek 
to provoke North Korean reaction rather than to work for a way to 
finally end the conflict. The U.S. presence only serves to prolong the 
conflict, further drain our empty treasury, and place our military at 
risk. I encourage my colleagues to reject this jingoistic resolution 
and instead use our Constitutionally-granted authority to finally end 
the U.S. military presence in and defense of South Korea.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to condemn North 
Korea's unprovoked artillery attack against the Republic of Korea. We 
stand with our treaty ally during this challenging time.
  The artillery attack against Yeonpyeong is part of a recent pattern 
of aggressive and violent behavior by the North. Earlier this year, a 
North Korean submarine attacked the South Korean ship Cheonan, killing 
46 sailors.
  I commend the Administration for standing side by side with South 
Korea. South Korea is a strong trading partner and ally in the Asia-
Pacific region. South Korea, and all countries around the world, must 
know that the U.S. stands with its friends.
  Our nation has been steadfast in our support of our Korean allies for 
over 60 years. We will not waver now.
  It is time for all nations interested in a stable and denuclearized 
Korean peninsula to denounce the recent aggression by North Korea and 
work for continued peace and prosperity in the region.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I join in asking for an ``aye'' vote, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1735.
  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. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground 
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum 
is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________