Recognizing that the United States-Republic of Korea alliance serves as a linchpin of regional stability and bilateral security, and exemplifies the broad and deep military, diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties shared between the United States and the Republic of Korea.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1149) recognizing that the United States-Republic of Korea alliance serves as a linchpin of regional stability and bilateral security, and exemplifies the broad and deep military, diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties shared between the United States and the Republic of Korea.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, strengthening U.S.-Korea ties has been one of my top priorities in Congress. As a southern Californian, I have seen firsthand how Korean Americans serve as pillars not only for their communities in the U.S., but also for the friendship between the U.S. and South Korea.

It was an honor to see my former staff member, Young Kim, represent my Orange County neighbors and myself in the California State Assembly. She served ably and energetically. Her story is the same as so many South Koreans who have come to this country and thrived.

The United States has no better partner in the Asia Pacific than the Republic of Korea. We signed the KORUS Free Trade Agreement, which went into effect in 2012. Since enactment of the KORUS Free Trade Agreement in 2012, trade has flourished, creating jobs in America and South Korea. In fact, South Korea is now our sixth largest trading partner, and, today, this partnership remains as important as ever as we look at the growing challenges across Asia.

We stood by Seoul as it was wrongfully punished by China for installing the THAAD ballistic missile defense system. And we continue to lead in helping to address the grave and immediate threats North Korea poses to Seoul and poses to the United States and our neighboring partners.

Despite recent diplomatic efforts, it was recently reported that North Korea has expanded a missile base along the Chinese border. A nearby second facility was also uncovered, while numerous undeclared missile bases have now been identified. And last month, North Korea's official news media reported that it successfully tested a new ``state- of-the-art weapon that has been long developed . . . significantly improving the combat power of our people's army.'' That is their quote.

These provocations and developments should underscore the threat we face from North Korea. That is why it is so important that we continue to press forward together with a campaign of maximum financial and diplomatic pressure. We must remain clear-eyed that the third generation of the Kim regime poses just as significant of a threat to us, our partners, and, most acutely, the North Korean people as ever.

Again, the U.S. has no better friend in Asia or anywhere else in the world than South Korea. We must continue to strengthen this partnership, particularly in the face of the threats we continue to face.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia an the Pacific.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I again recognize and thank Eliot Engel for his work on all of these measures, and I also recognize the importance of the U.S.-South Korean partnership. I have discussed the importance of that defense relationship as we stood shoulder to shoulder during the Korean war and how our economic partnership, bolstered by the enactment of the KORUS FTA, supports 400,000 American jobs.

While we discuss the importance of this partnership, I want to recognize that there is no greater bridge between our countries than the Korean American community. Since first arriving in the United States in 1903, they have worked tirelessly to form closer bonds between the United States and South Korea. And looking forward, the U.S. will remain committed to this important relationship.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise in support of this measure.

Mr. Speaker, let me once again start by thanking Chairman Royce. He has been one of Congress' most active leaders, if not the most active leader, on policy related to the Korean Peninsula. He leaves behind a great legacy after a distinguished career in this Chamber and a remarkable record of bipartisanship and leadership on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

The measure before us today affirms that the United States-Republic of Korea alliance will continue to defend against outside aggressors, uphold the peace, and guard the prosperity built by our two nations.

This resolution is before us at a critical time. The American alliance with South Korea is under intense strain. It is critical that we coordinate with our partners in Seoul when it comes to North Korea, but we see the administration and our South Korean partner are not on the same page when it comes to this important security issue. I am deeply concerned about the potential consequences of this gap between our administration and our ally, and many of us in both parties share the concern.

Now, the question of how we handle American policy toward North Korea is very important. This resolution rightly lays out that we should continue to apply economic pressure to the Kim regime, but we need to remember sanctions are a tool, not a complete strategy. We need to fully articulate a diplomatic strategy to accompany sanctions and enable them to work properly.

I also think it is important that our sanctions policy provides specific humanitarian exemptions. Life-saving humanitarian aid has never been held hostage to the political whims of the Kim family. We need to continue that tradition and not allow the impoverished, mistreated people of North Korea to pay the price for their dictator's political machinations.

I agree with the chairman that we need to put economic pressure on the North Korean regime. But Congress should continue to provide space for diplomacy and humanitarian assistance, as we do now in our current sanctions policy. The resolution before us today would be a stronger piece of legislation if it contained mention of this principle.

Although I wish the resolution laid out more explicitly the importance of a holistic strategy to accompany sanctions, it is a good measure that I am proud to support.

Our alliance with Korea is of paramount importance to our strategic and security interests, and I am glad this

measure reaffirms our strong commitment to that partnership.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join me in supporting this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman), one of our most senior and ranking members on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. He is ranking member of the Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Let me say, Mr. Speaker, I again thank Chairman Royce for his years of leadership on the Foreign Affairs Committee and his remarkable legacy on setting the agenda for American policy in the Korean Peninsula.

The United States-South Korea alliance is essential to our strategic posture in Asia. Our commitment to the Republic of Korea will persevere as a critical part of American foreign policy. It should be our utmost priority to deepen and strengthen our cooperation, and this resolution continues and aids that strong partnership.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the passage of this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Royce for introducing H. Res. 1149, which recognizes the importance of our alliance with South Korea.

As ranking member of the Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee and a member of the Congressional Caucus on Korea, I am pleased to cosponsor this resolution with several other Members of Congress.

The U.S. and South Korea share common values--democracy, commitment to justice--but we also share a unique bond of history. The United States military and South Korean troops fought side by side to defend the Korean Peninsula before the Armistice Agreement of 1953. Today, we continue to cooperate in order to defend the Korean Peninsula. In fact, South Korea currently hosts 28,500 American Active Duty military personnel.

Only 35 miles separate Seoul from North Korea, and when I was there with the chairman, we noticed that property values are considerably lower on the north side of Seoul than on the south side of Seoul. While we have substantial conventional forces there, no number of soldiers can deal with the biggest threat from North Korea; namely, its nuclear arsenal.

Now, I know it has been tweeted that we no longer face a nuclear threat from North Korea, would that that be so. Secretary of State Pompeo has recently stated that North Korea continues to make more fissile material, no doubt using that to make more nuclear bombs, even several every year. And satellite imagery shows that North Korea is continuing to build and expand bases for intercontinental ballistic missiles.

So we are standing shoulder to shoulder with South Korea, but we face a real threat from North Korea, and we will not be able to deal with that threat without the assistance of both South Korea and Japan.

This resolution reaffirms the need for the United States and South Korea to stand shoulder to shoulder in continuing to apply necessary economic pressure on North Korea. Toward that end, I would say that we have scaled back in substance, if not in legal form, our sanctions against North Korea, perhaps falsely believing that a few words exchanged in Singapore are a reason to do so.

Recently, we have sent a letter to the administration, a bipartisan letter urging them to sanction major Chinese banks, not just small ones, that have done business with North Korea in violation of U.S. law and U.N. sanctions.

Now, it is important also to look at the Korean American community, and I am pleased that the resolution recognizes the importance of the bridges created by the American Korean community between the United States and the Republic of Korea.

I recently led a letter urging President Trump and President Moon to make a major priority among North Korea, the United States, and South Korea allowing American citizens, some 100,000 of them, who have relatives in North Korea to at least be allowed to visit their relatives and, even before that, at least be allowed to talk to them over the phone. We must recognize the potential for the Korean American community to serve the cause of peace and to help establish a dialogue.

Again, I thank Chairman Royce for his leadership on this measure and urge its adoption.

Mr. Speaker, with this resolution, the United States recognizes its longstanding and multifaceted relationship with the Republic of Korea, one that runs much deeper than the headlines of today's news may convey.

Once among the world's poorest countries and devastated by war less than 70 years ago, you would find it difficult to believe the stories of Korea's past by visiting Seoul today. I led a bipartisan codel to Seoul this September to meet with members of the parliament, Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Defense Ministries, and North Korean defectors. The U.S.-South Korea partnership is so much more than a military alliance. Our partnership cultivated the Miracle on the Han River and showed the world how a nation can transition from aid to trade.

As stated, South Korea is now our sixth largest trading partner and tenth largest importer of agricultural products. South Korea has lived under the threat of war since its founding, but it has managed to lift its people out of extreme poverty and become an aid donor, a leader in international fora, one of the greatest sources of investment in the United States, and a shining example to many other countries in the region.

As revisionist powers challenge the vision and values that underpin the South Korean miracle, the United States needs partners more today than ever before, partners that embody and promote the open border from which we have both deeply benefited.

With this resolution, the House recognizes the United States' special bond with the Republic of Korea, and the need to deepen and cultivate this partnership to promote peace and prosperity of both nations well into the future.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to voice my strong support for H. Res. 1149 and the alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea.

Our two nations have forged an important military alliance and strong economic and diplomatic friendship built on shared support for democracy, free markets and human rights. I have long advocated for increasing the American commitment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, with the important U.S.-Korean relationship central to that strategy.

Both of our nations are threatened by North Korea's nuclear program. With nuclear talks at an apparent standstill, the current reduction in bilateral military exercises may be harming joint readiness with little to show for it. I will continue to urge the administration to conduct exercises when militarily necessary and separate our military cooperation with South Korea from ongoing negotiations about North Korea's nuclear program.

The United States and the Republic of Korea share a desire to eliminate the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear and missile

programs and secure a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. By working together as allies and friends we increase the likelihood of making these aspirations into reality.