III 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 200 

Welcoming the President of the Republic of Korea on his official visit to 

the United States and celebrating the United States-Republic of Korea 

relationship, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 22, 2017 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. 

RUBIO, Mr. REED, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. SCHATZ, Mrs. 

FEINSTEIN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. COONS, 

Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. RISCH, and Mr. PERDUE) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Welcoming the President of the Republic of Korea on his 

official visit to the United States and celebrating the 

United States-Republic of Korea relationship, and for 

other purposes. 

Whereas the Government and people of the United States 

and of the Republic of Korea share a comprehensive alliance, a dynamic partnership, and a personal friendship 

rooted in the common values of freedom, democracy, and 

a free market economy; 

Whereas the alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea is a linchpin of regional stability in Asia, 


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including against the threats posed by the regime in 

Pyongyang; 

Whereas cooperation between our nations spans across the 

economic, energy, diplomatic, security, and cultural 

spheres; 

Whereas the relationship between the people of the United 

States and of the Republic of Korea stretches back to 

Korea’s Chosun Dynasty, when the United States and 

Korea established diplomatic relations under the 1882 

Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce, and Navigation; 

Whereas the United States-Republic of Korea alliance was 

forged in blood, with military casualties of the United 

States during the Korean War of approximately 36,574 

deaths and more than 103,284 wounded, and casualties 

of the Republic of Korea of more than 217,000 soldiers 

killed, more than 291,000 wounded, and over 1,000,000 

civilians killed or missing; 

Whereas the Korean War Veterans Recognition Act (Public 

Law 111–41) was enacted on July 27, 2009, and President Barack Obama issued a proclamation to designate 

the date as the National Korean War Veterans Armistice 

Day and called upon the people of the United States to 

display flags at half-staff in memory of the Korean War 

veterans; 

Whereas the Republic of Korea and the United States have 

also stood alongside each other in the 4 major wars the 

United States has fought outside Korea since World War 

II—in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq; 

Whereas, since the 1953 Mutual Defense Treaty Between the 

United States and the Republic of Korea, done at Washington October 1, 1953, and ratified by the Senate on 


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January 26, 1954, United States military personnel have 

maintained a continuous presence on the Korean Peninsula, and currently there are approximately 28,500 

United States troops assigned in the Republic of Korea; 

Whereas, in January 2014, the United States and the Republic of Korea agreed upon a new 5-year Special Measures 

Agreement (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘SMA’’), establishing the framework for Republic of Korea contributions to offset the costs associated with the stationing of 

United States Forces Korea (referred to in this preamble 

as ‘‘USFK’’) on the Korean Peninsula; 

Whereas the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continues its dangerous incitements, including political assassinations, conventional military provocations, ballistic 

missile tests and the advancement of its nuclear programs; 

Whereas the United States continues to deploy advanced military capabilities to the land, air and waters of South 

Korea, including the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘THAAD’’) 

to defend against the growing threat from the ballistic 

missile and nuclear weapons programs of the Democratic 

People’s Republic of Korea, and will continue to closely 

coordinate with the Government of the Republic of Korea 

when evaluating the full range of necessary defensive 

military policies; 

Whereas the new Government of the Republic of Korea has 

announced that it has no intention to reverse commitments made in the spirit of the United States-Republic 

of Korea alliance, while it plans to implement the domestic procedures to uphold democratic, legal, and procedural legitimacy and transparency; 


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Whereas the People’s Republic of China has engaged in an 

unprecedented campaign of economic pressure on the Republic of Korea in retaliation for the decision by the 

United States-Republic of Korea alliance to deploy 

THAAD, with the goal of undermining the United 

States-Republic of Korea alliance and causing significant 

damage to the South Korean economy and South Korean 

people; 

Whereas the Government and people of the United States 

and of the Republic of Korea share a deep commitment 

to addressing the continued suffering of the people of the 

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea due to the appalling human rights abuses and repression of the regime in 

Pyongyang; 

Whereas, on March 15, 2012, the United States-Republic of 

Korea Free Trade Agreement entered into force, which 

both countries have committed to fully implement; 

Whereas the Republic of Korea is the United States sixthlargest trade partner, with United States goods and exports to Korea reaching a level of $63,800,000,000 in 

2016; 

Whereas United States foreign direct investment (referred to 

in this preamble as ‘‘FDI’’) in Korea (in stock) was 

$34,600,000,000 in 2015, a 3.3 percent increase from 

2014 and Korea’s FDI in the United States (in stock) 

was $40,100,000,000 in 2015, up 0.5 percent from 2014; 

Whereas, the Republic of Korea spends 2.6 percent of its 

gross domestic product (referred to in this preamble as 

‘‘GDP’’) on defense and carries a significant portion of 

United States operating costs for forces in South Korea; 


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Whereas President Moon Jae-in has expressed his desire to 

increase this spending to 3 percent of GDP during his 

tenure; 

Whereas the United States, the Republic of Korea, and the 

Government of Japan have made great strides in promoting trilateral cooperation and defense partnership, including ministerial meetings, information sharing, and 

cooperation on ballistic missile defense exercises to 

counter North Korean provocations; 

Whereas, on May 7, 2013, the United States and the Republic of Korea signed a Joint Declaration in Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the Alliance Between the 

Republic of Korea and the United States; 

Whereas President Moon Jae-in stated during his inaugural 

address on May 10, 2017: ‘‘I will do everything in my 

power to bring peace to the peninsula.’’; 

Whereas there are deep cultural and personal ties between 

the people of the United States and of the Republic of 

Korea, as exemplified by the large flow of visitors and exchanges each year between the 2 countries, including Korean students studying in United States colleges and universities; 

Whereas Korean-Americans have made invaluable contributions to the security, prosperity, and diversity of our Nation; 

Whereas, from June 28, 2017, through July 1, 2017, President Moon Jae-in will visit Washington for his first official visit to the United States since his election as President; and 

Whereas the United States Government looks forward to continuing to deepen our enduring partnership with the ReVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 Jun 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR200.IS SR200

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public of Korea on economic, security, and cultural 

issues, as well as embracing new opportunities for new 

partnership and cooperation on emerging regional and 

global challenges: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) welcomes His Excellency Moon Jae-in, the 

3 President of the Republic of Korea, on his first offi4 cial visit to the United States; 

5 (2) reaffirms the importance of— 

6 (A) the alliance between the United States 

7 and the Republic of Korea, as enshrined in the 

8 Mutual Defense Treaty of 1953, which is vital 

9 to peace and security in Northeast Asia, and 

10 the entire Asia-Pacific region; and 

11 (B) the commitment of the United States 

12 to defend the Republic of Korea under Article 

13 III of the Mutual Defense Treaty; 

14 (3) reinforces longstanding United States com15 mitments to provide extended deterrence, guaranteed 

16 by the full spectrum of United States defense capa17 bilities, to the Republic of Korea; 

18 (4) welcomes opportunities to strengthen secu19 rity consultation, cooperation, and partnership be20 tween the United States and the Republic of Korea 

21 on matters such as space, cyber, and missile defense; 

22 (5) supports ongoing efforts— 


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1 (A) to strengthen the United States-Re2 public of Korea alliance; 

3 (B) to protect the approximately 28,500 

4 members of the United States Armed Forces 

5 stationed on the Korean Peninsula; and 

6 (C) to defend the alliance against any and 

7 all provocations committed by the regime of the 

8 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; 

9 (6) urges the United States and the Republic of 

10 Korea to work together with members of the United 

11 Nations Security Council and other Member States 

12 to fully and effectively enforce existing sanctions and 

13 consider the need to take immediate action to pass 

14 additional and meaningful new measures under Arti15 cle 41 of the United Nations Charter; 

16 (7) supports efforts by the United States and 

17 the Republic of Korea to peacefully achieve a Korean 

18 Peninsula free of nuclear weapons through a diplo19 matic process; 

20 (8) urges the United States and the Republic of 

21 Korea to work together to fully and fairly implement 

22 all aspects of the United States-Republic of Korea 

23 Free Trade Agreement; and 

24 (9) encourages the United States Government 

25 and the Government of the Republic of Korea to 


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1 continue to broaden and deepen the alliance by en2 hancing cooperation and building new partnerships 

3 in the security, economic, energy, scientific, health, 

4 education, and cultural spheres. 

Æ 


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