Recognizing the importance of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Republic of Korea on October 1, 1953.

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 318 Recognizing the importance of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Republic of Korea on October 1, 1953. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 24, 2023 Ms. MENG (for herself, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. MEEKS, Mrs. KIM of California, Mr. BERA, Mrs. STEEL, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, and Ms. STRICKLAND) submitted the following resolution; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Recognizing the importance of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Republic of Korea on October 1, 1953. Whereas, on October 1, 1953, the Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Korea (5 U.S.T. 2368) was signed in Washington, to which the Senate provided its advice and consent to ratification on January 26, 1954; Whereas the shared commitment to recognize an armed at- tack on either of the parties as dangerous to the peace and security of the other and to ‘‘act to meet the com- VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:18 Apr 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR318.IH HR318 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 318 IH mon danger in accordance with [each’s] constitutional processes’’ remains in place today; Whereas the United States and Korea established diplomatic relations on May 22, 1882, with the signing of the Trea- ty of Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation, and rees- tablished its diplomatic relationship with the ‘‘Republic of Korea’’ on March 25, 1949; Whereas, in 2023, the United States-Republic of Korea alli- ance marks 70 years since the cessation of hostilities in the Korean war and the signing of the Armistice Agree- ment on July 27, 1953, which remains in place today and that by its terms has neither formally ended the Korean war nor constituted a permanent settlement of peace on the Korean Peninsula; Whereas the United States-Republic of Korea alliance is the linchpin of peace, security, and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region and is essential to confronting the threat posed by the Democratic Peo- ple’s Republic of Korea; Whereas the United States-Republic of Korea alliance is root- ed in mutual trust, shared sacrifice, common values, eco- nomic interests, and generations of people-to-people ties that provide a foundation for one of the strongest, most interoperable, and enduring bilateral alliances in the world; Whereas the United States assures its ironclad security com- mitment to the Republic of Korea, including the United States extended deterrent underpinned by the full range of United States capabilities; Whereas the United States-Republic of Korea alliance was forged in shared sacrifice, with 1,789,000 United States VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:18 Apr 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR318.IH HR318 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 318 IH soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines serving during the Korean war, of whom 36,574 paid the ultimate sacrifice with their lives in defense of the Republic of Korea, in- cluding 7,174 Korean Augmentation to the United States Army soldiers, and over 7,500 members of the United States Armed Forces remain classified by the Depart- ment of Defense as missing in action; Whereas casualties of the Republic of Korea were more than 217,000 soldiers killed, more than 291,000 wounded, and over 1,000,000 civilians killed or missing; Whereas the Republic of Korea has since its founding become a thriving democracy with a vibrant press and commit- ment to the rule of law and a free market economy; Whereas the United States-Republic of Korea Security Con- sultative Meeting met on November 3, 2022, in the Dis- trict of Columbia and ‘‘shared their common under- standing that the U.S.-ROK Alliance is based on the same principles and shared values including: mutual trust, freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law’’; Whereas the United States and the Republic of Korea are committed to pursuing closely coordinated diplomatic ef- forts through a shared strategy to achieve the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula; Whereas the Republic of Korea’s 2022 Strategy for a Free, Peaceful, and Prosperous Indo-Pacific Region emphasizes its desire to be a global pivotal state that commits ‘‘to working with other key nations both within and beyond the region to foster a free and peaceful region . . . while strengthening the rules-based international order’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:18 Apr 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR318.IH HR318 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 318 IH Whereas President Yoon Suk Yeol took the courageous and bold step of announcing that the Government of the Re- public of Korea would compensate Korean victims of Jap- anese wartime labor in order to facilitate the resolution of an issue that has hampered cooperation with Japan; Whereas a robust and effective trilateral relationship between and among the United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan is critical for joint security and interests in de- fending freedom and democracy, upholding human rights, promoting peace, security, and the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific and across the globe, championing women’s empowerment, and combating and adapting to complex environmental challenges; Whereas the American and Korean people share deeply root- ed values of defending freedom, championing economic and social opportunity and inclusion, upholding human rights, and respecting the rule of law; Whereas, the United States, Republic of Korea, and Japan have held a series of trilateral meetings, including a tri- lateral leaders’ summit on November 13, 2022, a Foreign Ministers’ meeting on September 23, 2022, and a vice ministerial meeting on February 13, 2023, at which the three countries committed to continuing trilateral exer- cises on ballistic missile defense and antisubmarine war- fare, and further determined to explore new areas of se- curity cooperation, including sharing Democratic People’s Republic of Korea missile warning data in real time; Whereas the Republic of Korea is the United States sixth largest goods trading partner with $162,900,000,000 in total (two-way) goods trade and $31,500,000,000 in total services trade for a combined $194,400,000,000 during 2021; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:18 Apr 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR318.IH HR318 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 318 IH Whereas the Republic of Korea is one of the United States top sources of foreign direct investment, which totaled $110,600,000,000 in 2021 and, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Republic of Korea multinational enterprises in the United States employed almost 84,000 employees in 2020; Whereas United States-Republic of Korea economic partner- ship based on the principle of joint prosperity was strengthened in 2012 with the signing of the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement; Whereas, on May 21, 2022, the United States and the Re- public of Korea agreed to leverage the comparative ad- vantage shared between the United States and the Re- public of Korea ‘‘to enhance public and private coopera- tion to protect and promote critical and emerging tech- nologies, including leading-edge semiconductors, ecofriendly EV batteries, Artificial Intelligence, quantum technology, biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and autono- mous robotics’’; Whereas the strength of the United States-Republic of Korea relationship is due in large part to the approximately 2,500,000 Korean Americans that have made significant contributions to every facet of American society and lead- ership to now include 4 Members of the House of Rep- resentatives, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Young Kim of California, Marilyn Strickland of Washington, and Michelle Steel of California; and Whereas, in April 2023, President Moon Yoon Suk Yeol will visit the United States at the invitation of President Joe Biden: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:18 Apr 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR318.IH HR318 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HRES 318 IH (1) welcomes President Yoon Suk Yeol to the 1 United States and urges both sides to use the occa- 2 sion of this state visit to further deepen the close se- 3 curity, economic, and people-to-people ties between 4 the United States and the Republic of Korea; 5 (2) reaffirms the importance of the United 6 States-Republic of Korea relationship as the linchpin 7 to safeguarding peace, security, and prosperity on 8 the Korean Peninsula and as a critical component of 9 peace in the Indo-Pacific region; 10 (3) reaffirms the United States extended deter- 11 rence commitments to the Republic of Korea, and 12 that the United States will continue to ensure that 13 its policy and posture reflects the requirements of 14 extended deterrence; 15 (4) supports ongoing efforts to further 16 strengthen, broaden, and deepen the ironclad United 17 States-Republic of Korea alliance, including the 18 United States-Republic of Korea Foreign and De- 19 fense Ministerial Meeting (2+2), the Security Con- 20 sultative Meeting, and the Extended Deterrence 21 Strategy and Consultation Group (2+2) to confront 22 threats to the peace and safety of both nations, and 23 to stand together for the common values and shared 24 interests that unite us; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:18 Apr 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR318.IH HR318 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HRES 318 IH (5) calls for continued cooperation between the 1 Governments of the United States and the Republic 2 of Korea in the promotion of human rights; 3 (6) supports the Republic of Korea’s engage- 4 ment in regional diplomacy, including the launching 5 of the ROK-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative, participa- 6 tion in the Minerals Security Partnership, joining of 7 the Partners in the Blue Pacific, and its hosting of 8 a summit with Pacific Island nations; 9 (7) endorses further Republic of Korea engage- 10 ment with the Quad initiatives, particularly in the 11 Quad Climate Working Group that works to 12 strengthen implementation of the Paris Agreement 13 and to cooperate on climate mitigation, adaptation, 14 resilience, technology, capacity building, and finance; 15 (8) calls for close coordination to achieve the 16 denuclearization of the Democratic People’s Republic 17 of Korea and the establishment of a permanent and 18 lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula; 19 (9) encourages close cooperation among the 20 United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan to 21 address shared challenges; and 22 (10) recognizes the deep partnership forged 23 over 70 years since the signing of the Mutual De- 24 fense Treaty that has provided security for both 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:18 Apr 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR318.IH HR318 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HRES 318 IH countries, established a durable trust, undergirded 1 the rules-based-order in the Indo-Pacific, and dem- 2 onstrated the benefits of robust democracies on both 3 sides of the Pacific. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:18 Apr 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR318.IH HR318 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS