[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9852]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        WELCOMING PRESIDENT MOON

  (Mr. MacARTHUR asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MacARTHUR. Mr. Speaker, the friendship between the United States 
and the Republic of Korea is based not only on shared, strategic, and 
economic interests, but also on shared values. We share a commitment to 
democracy and to political, religious, and economic liberty. It is a 
joy to welcome President Moon Jae-in to Washington, D.C. I congratulate 
him on his election, and I wish him a successful summit.
  But, for me, the relationship with South Korea is also deeply 
personal. My wife and I adopted two of our three children, David and 
Isabella, from Korea. I am deeply grateful to the people of South Korea 
for my children and for giving me the family that I love so much.
  But not every family on the Korean Peninsula is so fortunate. We 
remember those who live under the oppression of the North Korean regime 
that has no regard for the dignity of human persons. We condemn the 
horrifying crimes of that regime, and I express my hope for the 
reunification of Korea.
  We express our firm commitment to the ongoing friendship with South 
Korea, rooted in our shared values of freedom and democracy.

                          ____________________