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 referred 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 attack on either of the parties as dangerous to the peace 

and security of the other and to ‘‘act to meet the comVerDate 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 Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation, and reestablished its diplomatic relationship with the ‘‘Republic of 

Korea’’ on March 25, 1949; 

Whereas, in 2023, the United States-Republic of Korea alliance marks 70 years since the cessation of hostilities in 

the Korean war and the signing of the Armistice Agreement 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 People’s Republic of Korea; 

Whereas the United States-Republic of Korea alliance is rooted in mutual trust, shared sacrifice, common values, economic 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 commitment 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 


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, including 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 Department 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 commitment to the rule of law and a free market economy; 

Whereas the United States-Republic of Korea Security Consultative Meeting met on November 3, 2022, in the District of Columbia and ‘‘shared their common understanding 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 efforts 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’’; 


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 Republic of Korea would compensate Korean victims of Japanese 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 defending 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 rooted 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 trilateral 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 exercises on ballistic missile defense and antisubmarine warfare, and further determined to explore new areas of security 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; 


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 partnership 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 Republic of Korea agreed to leverage the comparative advantage shared between the United States and the Republic of Korea ‘‘to enhance public and private cooperation to protect and promote critical and emerging technologies, including leading-edge semiconductors, 

ecofriendly EV batteries, Artificial Intelligence, quantum 

technology, biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and autonomous 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 leadership to now include 4 Members of the House of Representatives, 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 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HRES 318 IH 

1 (1) welcomes President Yoon Suk Yeol to the 

2 United States and urges both sides to use the occa3 sion of this state visit to further deepen the close se4 curity, economic, and people-to-people ties between 

5 the United States and the Republic of Korea; 

6 (2) reaffirms the importance of the United 

7 States-Republic of Korea relationship as the linchpin 

8 to safeguarding peace, security, and prosperity on 

9 the Korean Peninsula and as a critical component of 

10 peace in the Indo-Pacific region; 

11 (3) reaffirms the United States extended deter12 rence commitments to the Republic of Korea, and 

13 that the United States will continue to ensure that 

14 its policy and posture reflects the requirements of 

15 extended deterrence; 

16 (4) supports ongoing efforts to further 

17 strengthen, broaden, and deepen the ironclad United 

18 States-Republic of Korea alliance, including the 

19 United States-Republic of Korea Foreign and De20 fense Ministerial Meeting (2+2), the Security Con21 sultative Meeting, and the Extended Deterrence 

22 Strategy and Consultation Group (2+2) to confront 

23 threats to the peace and safety of both nations, and 

24 to stand together for the common values and shared 

25 interests that unite us; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•HRES 318 IH 

1 (5) calls for continued cooperation between the 

2 Governments of the United States and the Republic 

3 of Korea in the promotion of human rights; 

4 (6) supports the Republic of Korea’s engage5 ment in regional diplomacy, including the launching 

6 of the ROK-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative, participa7 tion in the Minerals Security Partnership, joining of 

8 the Partners in the Blue Pacific, and its hosting of 

9 a summit with Pacific Island nations; 

10 (7) endorses further Republic of Korea engage11 ment with the Quad initiatives, particularly in the 

12 Quad Climate Working Group that works to 

13 strengthen implementation of the Paris Agreement 

14 and to cooperate on climate mitigation, adaptation, 

15 resilience, technology, capacity building, and finance; 

16 (8) calls for close coordination to achieve the 

17 denuclearization of the Democratic People’s Republic 

18 of Korea and the establishment of a permanent and 

19 lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula; 

20 (9) encourages close cooperation among the 

21 United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan to 

22 address shared challenges; and 

23 (10) recognizes the deep partnership forged 

24 over 70 years since the signing of the Mutual De25 fense Treaty that has provided security for both 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•HRES 318 IH 

1 countries, established a durable trust, undergirded 

2 the rules-based-order in the Indo-Pacific, and dem3 onstrated the benefits of robust democracies on both 

4 sides of the Pacific. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS