congressional_record: CREC-2012-12-31-pt1-PgH7498
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| granule_id | date | congress | session | volume | issue | title | chamber | granule_class | sub_granule_class | page_start | page_end | speakers | bills | citation | full_text |
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| CREC-2012-12-31-pt1-PgH7498 | 2012-12-31 | 112 | 2 | CONDEMNING NORTH KOREAN MISSILE LAUNCH | HOUSE | HOUSE | ALLOTHER | H7498 | H7500 | [{"name": "Ileana Ros-Lehtinen", "role": "speaking"}, {"name": "Howard L. Berman", "role": "speaking"}, {"name": "Edward R. Royce", "role": "speaking"}] | [{"congress": "112", "type": "HCONRES", "number": "145"}, {"congress": "112", "type": "HCONRES", "number": "145"}, {"congress": "112", "type": "HCONRES", "number": "145"}] | 158 Cong. Rec. H7498 | Congressional Record, Volume 158 Issue 171 (Monday, December 31, 2012) [Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 171 (Monday, December 31, 2012)] [House] [Pages H7498-H7500] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] CONDEMNING NORTH KOREAN MISSILE LAUNCH Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 145) calling for universal condemnation of the North Korean missile launch of December 12, 2012, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution. The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows: H. Con. Res. 145 Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1695, unanimously adopted on July 15, 2006, following a series of North Korean missile firings on July 5, 2006, specifically condemned the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (North Korea) recent test-firing of a series of missiles, and demanded that the North-East Asian country suspend all ballistic missile related activity and reinstate its moratorium on missile launches; Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1695 also required all Member States, in accordance with their national legal authorities and legislation and consistent with international law, to exercise vigilance and prevent missile and missile-related items, materials, goods, and technology being transferred to North Korea's missile or weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programmes, and to prevent the procurement of missiles or missile related-items, materials, goods, and technology from North Korea, and the transfer of any financial resources in relation to North Korea's missile or WMD programmes; Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718, adopted on October 14, 2006, decided that North Korea shall suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile programme and in this context re-establish its pre-existing commitments to a moratorium on missile launching; Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718 also imposed a ban on the sales of military equipment and luxury goods to North Korea as well as a ban on technology transfers; Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718 further required Member States to prevent the travel of North Korean officials connected to the ballistic missile or nuclear programs, the inspection of cargo from North Korea to assure it was not missile, WMD, or nuclear-related, and the immediate freezing of funds, other financial assets, and economic resources that support these illicit North Korean activities; Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874, adopted on June 12, 2009, called upon Member States to inspect, seize, and dispose of proscribed illicit North Korea items related to its missile, nuclear, and [[Page H7499]] WMD programmes and to prevent the provision of financial services or the transfer to, through, or from their territory of any financial or other assets or resources that could contribute to North Korea's nuclear-related, ballistic missile-related, or other WMD-related programmes or activities, and by denying fuel or supplies to service the vessels carrying them; Whereas, on December 12, 2012, in flagrant defiance of past United Nations Security Council resolutions, the international community, and its Six-Party partners, North Korea launched a three-stage, long-range missile, which overflew Japanese territory near Okinawa and dropped debris into the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and waters adjacent to the Philippines; Whereas North Korea's latest provocative and defiant action represents a direct threat to the United States Armed Forces in the Asia/Pacific region and regional allies and friends, including Australia, Japan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan and is a potential future threat to the United States and its people, including those residing in Guam, Hawaii, Alaska, and the west coast of the United States mainland; and Whereas there has been extensive cooperation on missile development and military cooperation between the Governments of North Korea and Iran that dates back to the 1980s: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that-- (1) the North Korean missile launch of December 12, 2012, represents a flagrant violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions 825 (1993), 1540 (2004), 1695 (2006), 1718 (2006), and 1874 (2009), that North Korea continues to defy the United Nations, its Six-Party partners, and the international community, and that the Member States should immediately impose sanctions covered by these resolutions and censure North Korea; (2) all current restrictions against the Government of North Korea, including sanctions that ban the importation into the United States of North Korean products and goods, should remain in effect until the Government of North Korea no longer engages in activities that threaten United States interests and global peace and stability; (3) the Government of China should cooperate with the United States in pursuit of a new round of United Nations Security Council sanctions, to pressure its North Korean partner, redouble its efforts to prevent Chinese companies from transferring military and dual-use technologies to North Korea, and to crack down on transshipments through China that relate to North Korean military, missile, and nuclear programs and proliferation activities; and (4) North Korea should abandon and dismantle its provocative missile and nuclear weapons programs, cease its proliferation activities, and come into immediate compliance with all relevant international agreements and United Nations Security Council resolutions. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Poe of Texas). Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida. General Leave Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material in the Record on this bill. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Florida? There was no objection. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise to support this strongly bipartisan measure which condemns the latest provocation by North Korea. Pyongyang has once again flagrantly violated past United Nations Security Council resolutions and the assurances given to Six-Party partners. I would also like to take this opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to sincerely congratulate President-elect Park for her victory in South Korea's hard-fought presidential election. The Republic of Korea is one of our Nation's closest friends in Asia. Ours is a steadfast alliance forged in the crucible of war. Two decades ago, with all eyes on Europe, the United States prematurely celebrated victory over communism and an end to the Cold War. But in 1989, the same year the Berlin Wall fell, tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square, crushing, in a bloody massacre, the democracy movement of the Chinese people. So while communism fell in Europe, it was revitalized in the world's most populous nation and preserved in North Korea and in my native homeland of Cuba. Pyongyang's recent missile launch awakens America to the fact that the shadow of communism still casts a long shadow over Asia. North Korea's expanding nuclear and missile proliferation threaten not only our allies in the Pacific, but potentially our own people as well. In Asia, the Cold War never ended, and the United States and South Korean forces stand guard together on this last frontier. Attempts to engage Pyongyang over the past 4 years have been met with repeated provocations: the kidnapping of two American journalists, repeated missile launches, one more nuclear test, the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel with the loss of 46 lives, and the shelling of a South Korean island. {time} 1210 How much more should we endure before we say, Enough is enough? Sweet-talking Pyongyang only seems to inspire further belligerence. Our extended hand is met not only with a clenched fist but a fist grasping a knife. Those who had hoped for openness and reform from this new generation of the Kim dynasty saw their dreams go up in smoke on a North Korean launch pad. The only answer appears to be a coordinated, firm, international strategy in which current sanctions are reinforced and strengthened. This, of course, requires the cooperation of Beijing, a U.N. Security Council permanent member who deceptively seems to tell one thing to Washington and yet another to Pyongyang. Press articles hailed the fact that China, in anticipation of the recent launch, had begun inspecting cargo on North Korean ships in search of contraband. The question this raises is: Why has China not been inspecting North Korean ships since 2006, as was first called for in a U.N. resolution, which was reinforced by another resolution in the year 2009? If U.N. member states would only enforce the sanctions currently on the books, North Korea would be unable to ignore the international community and the civilized world. The time for coordinated international action is now. The time, in fact, is long overdue. With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 145, as amended, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to thank the sponsor of this legislation, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, for her leadership on this issue and for her work in addressing the North Korean threat. Earlier this month, North Korea carried out a missile launch using ballistic missile technology in direct defiance of the international community. This important resolution condemns North Korea's launch, and it calls on the North to live up to its commitments, to adhere to its international obligations and to deal peacefully with its neighbors. North Korea's missile launch is a blatant violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions 1718 and 1874, and we urge the Security Council to take strong and concerted action to demonstrate that Pyongyang's actions are completely unacceptable. In particular, we call on China and Russia to work constructively with other members of the Council to show that the international community is united in condemning North Korea's provocative behavior. North Korea is only further isolating itself with its irresponsible action, and the development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons will never bring the real security and acceptance by the international community that the regime so desperately wants. Instead of pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into its so-called space program, nuclear programs, and massive military, North Korea should instead work to feed its own citizens and improve its dismal economy. We must continue to remain vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations and fully committed to the security of our allies in the region, so I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I would like to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade and the chairman-designate of the full committee in the next Congress. I thank [[Page H7500]] him for his leadership on this and many of the issues that are facing our Foreign Affairs Committee. Mr. ROYCE. Thank you very much, Chairman, for yielding. I rise in support of this resolution, of which I am an original cosponsor. I think Members are very rightly concerned now, as the same technology that's used to put a satellite into space is also used to launch a ballistic missile. This experiment by North Korea is definitely an advance for them. It is definitely a threat to the region. It is definitely a threat to the United States because what we're talking about here are three-stage ICBMs. It is estimated that North Korea has spent $3 billion since 1998 on that missile program, which is the amount of money that would have bought enough corn to feed that country over the last 3 years. I have been to North Korea, and I've seen the malnutrition. Instead of feeding its people, it continues to plow billions of dollars into its military. That's the type of despicable regime we're dealing with--where $3 billion went into this project instead of feeding the population. This is why the House has passed legislation to prohibit the United States from giving food aid to North Korea. When we do so, money is fungible, and we have found in the past that that aid is both used to feed the military and it's sold on the exchange for hard currency. U.S. policy towards North Korea--hoping that North Korea will give up its weapons for aid--has been a failure. It has been a bipartisan failure, frankly, for decades, and it has gotten us now to this point. The hope that North Korea can be induced to abandon its ambitions for nuclear weapons and missiles distracts us, unfortunately. It distracts us from pursuing the very policies that might actually change the behavior of the regime and support its people. In going forward, we need to move away from an unimaginative policy here to one with energy and creativity and focus. Let's tackle North Korea's illicit activities--its missile and drug proliferation, its counterfeiting of U.S. currency. This regime will do anything for money. As many North Koreans who have left will tell you, this is a gangster regime. Let's interfere with those shipments and disrupt the bank accounts that are used. Let's ramp up radio broadcasts into the country where there is evidence that the information wall is cracking. We see that with the defectors who are telling us about how much they oppose the regime now. Let's help the refugees who are literally dying to escape the prison north of the 38th parallel. Severely weakening the regime is the only way to make the Korean peninsula secure. Until it was dropped in favor of a failed diplomacy program several years ago, the Treasury Department went after North Korea. If we can remember 2006, we went after North Korea's ill-gotten gains that were parked in a Macau bank. We put the brakes on North Korea's counterfeiting of U.S. currency. We cut the flow of currency to the regime. The head of state could not pay his generals. It created a crisis inside North Korea. That policy was mistakenly dropped. I'd like to see it reapplied. Let's go back to where we are proactively defending U.S. interests instead of just condemning another North Korean provocation every few months. Let's do something that has been proven to work in terms of putting the pressure on North Korea. Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I also have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 145, as amended. The question was taken. The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it. Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn. ____________________ |