III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 175 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 26, 2023 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. RISCH, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. ROMNEY, 

Mr. KAINE, Mr. HAGERTY, Mr. OSSOFF, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. SCHATZ, 

Ms. HIRONO, and Mr. HOEVEN) submitted the following resolution; which 

was considered and agreed to 

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, D.C., 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 00:25 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR175.ATS SR175

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•SRES 175 ATS 

mon danger in accordance with [each party’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 the 

United States 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 

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 (DPRK); 

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, including nuclear capabilities; 


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•SRES 175 ATS 

Whereas the United States-Republic of Korea alliance was 

forged in shared sacrifice, with 1,789,000 United States 

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 (KATUSA) soldiers, and the over 7,500 members 

of the United States Armed Forces that 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 Washington, D.C. 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 


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•SRES 175 ATS 

the region to foster a free and peaceful region . . . while 

strengthening the rules-based international order’’; 

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 

development, upholding human rights, and respecting the 

rule of law; 

Whereas the United States, the 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 anti-submarine warfare, and further determined to explore new 

areas of security cooperation, including sharing DPRK 

missile warning data in real time; 

Whereas the Republic of Korea is the United States’ seventh 

largest goods trading partner with $162,900,000,000 in 


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total (two-way) goods trade and $31,500,000,000 in total 

services trade for a combined $194,400,000,000 in 2021, 

and is one of the United States top sources of Foreign 

Direct Investment (FDI), which totaled 

$110,600,000,000 in 2021 and, according to the Bureau 

of Economic Analysis, South Korea multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the United States employed almost 

84,000 employees in 2020; 

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 four 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 Yoon Suk Yeol will visit 

the United States at the invitation of President Joseph 

R. Biden: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) welcomes President Yoon Suk Yeol to the 

3 United States and urges both sides to use the occa4 sion of this state visit to further deepen the close se5 curity, economic, and people-to-people ties between 

6 our nations; 

7 (2) reaffirms the importance of the United 

8 States-Republic of Korea alliance as the linchpin to 

9 safeguarding peace, security, and prosperity on the 


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•SRES 175 ATS 

1 Korean Peninsula and a critical component of peace 

2 in the Indo-Pacific region; 

3 (3) reaffirms the United States’ extended deter4 rence commitments to the Republic of Korea and 

5 that the United States will continue to ensure that 

6 its policy and posture reflects the requirements of 

7 extended deterrence; 

8 (4) supports ongoing efforts to further 

9 strengthen, broaden, and deepen the ironclad United 

10 States-Republic of Korea alliance, including the 

11 United States-Republic of Korea Foreign and De12 fense Ministerial Meeting (2+2), the Security Con13 sultative Meeting, and the Extended Deterrence 

14 Strategy and Consultation Group, to confront 

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

16 to stand together for the common values and shared 

17 interests that unite us; 

18 (5) calls for continued cooperation between the 

19 Governments of the United States and the Republic 

20 of Korea in the promotion of human rights; 

21 (6) supports the Republic of Korea’s engage22 ment in regional diplomacy, including the launching 

23 of the ROK-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative, the Repub24 lic of Korea’s participation in the Minerals Security 

25 Partnership, its joining of the Partners in the Blue 


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1 Pacific, and its hosting of a summit with Pacific Is2 land nations; 

3 (7) endorses further Republic of Korea engage4 ment with Quad initiatives; 

5 (8) calls for close coordination to achieve the 

6 denuclearization of the Democratic People’s Republic 

7 of Korea and the establishment of a permanent and 

8 lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula; 

9 (9) encourages close cooperation among the 

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

11 address shared challenges; and 

12 (10) recognizes the deep partnership forged 

13 over 70 years since the signing of the Mutual De14 fense Treaty that has underpinned security for both 

15 countries, established a durable trust, undergirded 

16 the free and open order in the Indo-Pacific, and 

17 demonstrated the benefits of robust democracies on 

18 both sides of the Pacific. 

Æ 


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