III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 279 

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the 125th anniversary of the 

1882 Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation between the 

Kingdom of Chosun (Korea) and the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 24, 2007 

Mr. LUGAR (for himself, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. WEBB, and Mr. 

ISAKSON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the 125th 

anniversary of the 1882 Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation between the Kingdom of Chosun 

(Korea) and the United States. 

Whereas both the Republic of Korea and the United States 

are fully democratic states with a common commitment 

to human rights and the rule of law; 

Whereas 2007 marks the 125th anniversary of the Treaty of 

Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation between the 

Kingdom of Chosun (Korea) and the United States, concluded May 22, 1882, which was a seminal moment in relations between the United States and Korea; 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
2 

•SRES 279 IS 

Whereas the treaty contemplates ‘‘everlasting amity and 

friendship between the two peoples’’, a tradition that 

both state signatories have worked to achieve during the 

past 125 years; 

Whereas 2007 marks the 50th anniversary of the entry into 

force of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation, with Protocol, signed at Seoul November 28, 

1956 (8 UST 2217), between the United States and the 

Republic of Korea; 

Whereas the United States and the Republic of Korea share 

a mutual interest in the peaceful denuclearization of the 

Korean peninsula; 

Whereas nearly 40,000 citizens of the United States gave 

their lives during the Korean War with the hope that the 

Republic of Korea would remain free and independent; 

Whereas the Mutual Defense Treaty, signed at Washington 

October 1, 1953 (5 UST 2368), between the United 

States and the Republic of Korea, has led to more than 

50 years of effective deterrence against attack by the 

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; 

Whereas 29,000 troops from the United States remain stationed in the Republic of Korea as a tangible sign of the 

commitment of the United States to the security of the 

Republic of Korea; 

Whereas the Republic of Korea is the fourth largest contributor of troops to the peacekeeping effort in Iraq and continues its tradition of supporting the United States in 

key armed struggles; 

Whereas the Republic of Korea is making a significant military and financial contribution to building lasting stability in Afghanistan; 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
3 

•SRES 279 IS 

Whereas the United States and the Republic of Korea continuously work to modernize their security relationship 

through annual Security Consultative Meetings between 

their defense ministers, the Strategic Consultation for Allied Partnership Dialogue, and various lower-level forums; 

Whereas the economic partnership between the United States 

and the Republic of Korea has contributed to significant 

economic growth for both countries; 

Whereas the Republic of Korea is the seventh largest trading 

partner of the United States, and the United States is 

the third largest trading partner of the Republic of 

Korea; 

Whereas the Free Trade Agreement between the United 

States of America and the Republic of Korea, done at 

Washington June 30, 2007, is the first free trade agreement between the United States and a Northeast Asian 

nation, paving the way for greater economic efficiency 

and consumer benefits in both countries; 

Whereas nearly 2,000,000 Korean-Americans contribute to 

the fabric of life in the United States and link the United 

States to Korea on a personal basis; 

Whereas the Republic of Korea sends more international students to the United States than any other country; and 

Whereas the strong relationship between the United States 

and the Republic of Korea across many fronts has proven 

beneficial for both countries: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
4 

•SRES 279 IS 

1 (1) the strength and endurance of the alliance 

2 between the United States and the Republic of 

3 Korea should be acknowledged and celebrated; 

4 (2) the Free Trade Agreement between the 

5 United States of America and the Republic of 

6 Korea, done at Washington June 30, 2007, high7 lights the vibrancy and diversity of the common in8 terests of the United States and the Republic of 

9 Korea and should be fully implemented by both 

10 countries; 

11 (3) the United States should sustain sub12 stantive dialogue with both the Republic of Korea 

13 and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, with 

14 the expectation of the eventual unification of the Ko15 rean peninsula, as it was at the signing of the Trea16 ty of Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation be17 tween the Kingdom of Chosun (Korea) and the 

18 United States, concluded May 22, 1882; 

19 (4) working with the Republic of Korea to fos20 ter greater regional cooperation in East Asia should 

21 be a priority of the United States, as such coopera22 tion brings long and short term benefits to all those 

23 involved; and 

24 (5) the United States and the Republic of 

25 Korea should strive to develop further a more global 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
5 

•SRES 279 IS 

1 perspective in their partnership, with the goal of ad2 dressing international priorities such as the fight 

3 against terrorism, the promotion of human rights, 

4 the enhancement of democracy, and support for 

5 peacekeeping. 

Æ 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS