the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 309, resolution expressing the sense of the house of representatives that north korea should immediately stop any hostile rhetoric and activity towards the republic of korea and engage in mutual dialogue to enhance interkorean relations. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from american samoa, mr. faleomavaega, and the gentleman from florida, mr. bilirakis: each will control 20 minutes. the chair wreck -- recognizes the gentleman from american samoa. mr. faleomavaega: just for the record i want to make sure it's pronounced directly that this is house resolution 309, as amended. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. 309, as amended. mr. faleomavaega: i want to rise in support that north korea should return to

dialogue. i yield myself such time as i may consume. 20eu7 the gentleman is recognized. -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. faleomavaega: mr. speaker, as i said earlier, my strong support of house resolution 309, a thoughtful, timely and relevant resolution offered by my dear friend and colleague, the gentleman from new york, mr. king. i also wish to recognize the contributions and efforts of my colleague, mr. meeks also from new york. he was the principal democratic lead co-sponsor and a is a member of my subcommittee on asia pacific and the global environment. mr. speaker, this important and bipartisan resolution shares as its substantive core three key principles. first, it expresses the unified sense of the congress that north korea should seize all hostile and detablizing activity on the korean peninsula. second, it calls on north korea to re-engage in dialogue with south korea, as well as with the six-party talks. third, it reaffirms our

unconditional and unwavering commitment to our alliance, partnership with the republic of korea. as we are all aware, north korea's recent hostile activities has once again brought world attention to the fradge aisle, peace and security framework -- fragile, peace and security framework on the peninsula of korea. north korea conducted another nuclear test, launched several intercontinental ballistic missiles and expanded all interkorean agreements, including the armistice that has maintained peace between north and south korea since 1953. even more alarming, mr. speaker, north korea removed the iaea inspectors at yongbin and starting its plutonium production program within the ultimate aim of weaponizing its nuclear materials. meanwhile, amid the hostile brinkmanships, two american

journalists were captured, tried and sentenced to 12 years in prison for reform by hard labor. north korea's leader, kim jong il, has led it be known that his son, kim jeong un, will succeed him. north korea's communist leadership regime is being solidified into a totalitarian, authority yarian regime. -- authoritarian regime. this pass presipiated a congressional response to north korea's hostile acts while also sending a message of the strong solidarity of support to our close friend and ali, the republic of korea. just last friday, the united nations security council unanimously adopted a resolution condemning, and i quote, in the strongest terms possible north korea's nuclear test, imposing new sanctions, demanding that the democratic

people's republic of korea not conduct any further nuclear tests or any launch using ballistic missile technology, and urging him come back to the six-party talks without preconditions. house resolution 309 before us today will reinforce the security council message that pyongyang's recent actions are unacceptable and it will also reinforce the message that president obama and secretary of state clinton have both underscored regarding the strength of our alliance with south korea. administration and the international community have sent clear messages to its previouscations and it's time that congress also follows suit. mr. speaker, our consideration of house resolution 309 today is rendered all the more relevant by the visit of president lee to washington. i understand that his incredibly busy schedule will include a summit with president obama and meetings with cabinet

officials and the house and senate leadership. i also was made aware that he'll receive the honorary doctorate degree from george washington where he was a visiting scholar 10 years ago. if i could just a -- mr. speaker, it's also a special owe cables when korea's president visits the united states, and i certainly would like to extend a sincere welcome and best wishes to president lee, whom i had the honor of meeting with last year in seoul. mr. speaker, for almost a year and a half from now since his inauguration last february, president lee has continually emphasized the importance of a strategic alliance of the united states, and this has been manifested through several notable achievements. most recently, south korea joined the proliferation security initiative aimed at preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. in november of last year, korea formerly exceeded to the visa waiver program.

and a currency swap agreement was signed between our two countries to stem the liquidity issues in the global financial markets. and through legislation passed by our congress last september, the foreign military status was upgraded to the level of nato plus three. president lee was also instrumental in arranging for the importation of beef from the united states to beef imports from the u.s. to korea. after defusing a sensitive political situation that temporary halted our imports of beef to south korea. his determination to settle the beef issue underscores the importance commercial ties between korea and the united states. mr. speaker, i wish to close my remarks by offering a few thoughts of importance of reaffirming our alliance with south korea. the history of relations between our two countries which can be tracked back to a treaty

of friendship more than 125 years ago has been marked by consistency and mutual solidarity between our two nations. with that, mr. speaker, i ask my colleagues to support this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise in strong support of this resolution. put forward in march by my good friend and homeland security ranking member, peter king, to show solidarity with our south korean allies and their -- in their hour of need. its consideration is now timely. it's time to coinside with tomorrow's washington summit meeting with the president of the republic of korea. north korea is fast becoming a foreign policy crisis spiraling out of control. in april, there was a long-range missile launch. in may, there was another

underground nuclear test. only a week ago, a pyongyang kangaroo court took the provocative, morally responsible -- irreprehensible act of sentencing captured american journalists laura ling and luna lee to 12 years in a labor catch. north korea also continues to hold a south korean citizen as a hostage. our thoughts and prayers are with those captives and their family. the united nations security council has finally passed a resolution with some teeth. unfortunately, the u.n. resolution 1718 passed in 2006 after pyongyang's first nuclear test was ignored when north korea returned to the negotiating table. north korea's response to this latest u.n. resolution has been more bluster and brinkmanship. the north korean's reveal to no

one's surprise that they have maintained a highly enriched uranium program all along in addition to their plutonium program. they now threaten the world with more bombs and possible nuclear war. earlier this month, kim jong il sent a patrol boat into south korea waters to back up his threats made against our south korean ally. some are now convinced that there will be a future military confrontation along d.m.z., or in the yellow sea. and today 28,500 u.s. military personnel still stand guard in south korea, a country often called the last frontier of the cold war. the dear leader's obviously testing the medal of this president and this congress. kim jong il has responded to the outstretched hand of president obama's inaugural address with missiles, nuclear bombs, the seizure of american

citizens and a threat of war. he is preparing to launch yet another long-range missile, one that could reportedly reach the united states, and is likely to conduct yet another underground nuclear test. i say enough is enough. now is the time for the consequences which are current north korean special enjoy, steven bosworth, promised after the april 5 missile launch. last week secretary clinton raised the relisting of north korea as a state sponsor of terrorism as one possible consequence. but a few days later the house rules committee refused to allow consideration of an amendment to the foreign relations authorization act offered by my good friend and ranking member, representative ros-lehtinen, which would have done just that. it is unfortunate that secretary clinton would consider this but not the house leadership. the time for hesitancy is over,

mr. speaker. america needs to respond to north korea. and i reserve the balance of my time. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from american samoa. mr. faleomavaega: i also would like to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. bilirakis: mr. speaker, i yield to the ranking member, mr. king from new york, as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york, mr. king, is recognized. mr. king: mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman from florida for yielding and at the outset let me thank chairman berman and ranking member ros-lehtinen for the support they've given me on this resolution and for bringing to to the house floor. also, let me thank my colleague from new york, mr. meeks, for being the prime co-sponsor of the bill and for his support in pushing it forward. of course, mr. faleomavaega, who does a truly outstanding job as chairman of the subcommittee. i want to thank him as well. mr. speaker, when i first introduced this resolution back

in march, it was clear then obviously that korea was a major threat to world stability and a major threat to the national security of the united states and, of course, also to its asian neighbors. well, since then the situation has only gotten worse. as mr. bilirakis pointed out, it's been step after step, step after step, after progressive action, provocative action, action defying world opinion, defying resolutions to the united nations, and absolutely defying agreements that have been made with the six parties over the previous years. mr. speaker, president clinton reached out and tried to engage north korea. president bush obviously reached out, tried to engage north korea, began the six-party talks, made china a part of that process, and yet at every stage when it comes to weaponizing uranium, plutonium, moving forward, north korea has refused to respond in good faith. and when they do make an attempt to good faith, it's a deploy and they renege after any concession is made by the united states or any of our

allies. mr. speaker, i think it's important that we send a message to the north korean government. now, let's be clear about this. when talking about the north korean government, we're really talking about an organized crime family mass crading as a state. i mean, kim jong il defies every standard of decency that is built up in the community of nations. i think it's important to realize that, especially when north korea is contrast with the republic of korea, which has become a modeled democracy and such a strong and staunch ally of the united states. so as we go forward, mr. speaker, i think it's important for the president and the secretary of state to know that congress will stand behind them if they have to take stronger action, if they have to really lean back and push back against north korea. i think everything should be on the table. the fact is that we now have a situation where with the -- going forward with its nuclear program, north korea really puts its neighbors in jeopardy and perhaps soon after that

europe and the united states. with their missile system, with the delivery system, with the nuclear weapons. and i think everything should be on the table, including a very strong missile defense system and we should have an open debate. put partisanship aside and stand as americans which could be a mortal danger to our allies and causing a situation in asia to spiral out of control. i certainly think when japan seize -- saw what north korea was doing, we could -- we have strong friends such as taiwan who now will be in danger. and also it's time for china to realize that they have a major role to play in solving this crisis. the fact is north korea could not survive if it did not receive its energy and food supplies from china. and china should realize that this game can only go on for so long of where they somehow take a certain delight in north korea, antagonizing the united states and also they feel they can buy off north korea with the food and energy and they

don't want refugees going across their border. this has now gone beyond the stage of talking and sitting down. we're talking about the very security of the united states being in danger here. so, mr. speaker, i urge the adoption of this resolution. yes, we have to continue constructive dialogue and we have to engage to the extent we can with north korea. but the fact is that as mr. bilirakis said, when the president reached out in good faith, president clinton, president bush and now president obama have reached out in good faith, the response to them has been an iron fist, it's been missiles, it's been rockets and weaponizing of nuclear fissile material. so rather than us be victims of something which we should anticipate now, let us stand together and certainly reach out across the aisle so all of us, republicans and democrats and as americans can stand with the president as he goes forward and hopefully he will to stand up to this really blatant aggression, i believe,

by north korea and sending a message to kim jong il, whether it's him or his son, no matter who ends up controlling and calling the shots in north korea, that will be met with assertive action by the united states and call on countries such as china to start doing what they should be doing and reassure our allies such as japan and taiwan that the united states will do all it can to prevent and stop north korea from becoming a nuclear power. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time and urge adoption of the resolution. . the gentleman from american samoa. mr. faleomavaega: how much time do i have left? the speaker pro tempore: 14 minutes. mr. faleomavaega: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i want to commend and thank my good friend, the gentleman from new york, for his sponsorship of this important resolution and certainly thank him for his insights and understanding of the current situation that we are faced with as far as dealing with north korea. mr. speaker, the geopolitical situation now, the realities and development as a result of north

korea's latest activities, now makes it absolutely necessary for the united states to strengthen our alliance and partnership with the south korea, the security alliance between the united states and korea has been pivotal after since it was forged through much shedding of blood during the korean war some 60 years ago. as i recall over 33,000 of our men and women in military uniform died as a result of that terrible conflict known as the korean war. without question south korea has remained a steadfast u.s. ally, especially in our time of need, whether it be the horrific conflict of vietnam or where i personally served at the time with some 50,000 south korean soldiers were right there fighting alongside the members of our forces there at that time. when we needed assistance in iraq, afghanistan, lebanon, and other global hot spots, south korea responded affirmatively and dependably as our ally.

the foundation of our friendship and alliance is unshakable. through our shared values and common history, we are able to meet global challenges together ranging from terrorism to the current crisis in north korea. mr. speaker, our economic and trade relationship with south korea is one of the strongest in asia. currently south korea is our seventh largest trading partner in the world. in twetch our two countries concluded a free trade agreement that now awaits approval by our congress and the korean national assembly. in my opinion the us dushes korea free trade agreement will bring tremendous benefits to both of our countries. international trade commission has forecast that the elimination of tariffs and u.s. goods under the agreement will increase our g.d.p. by about $11 billion a year. the agreement will also eliminate regulatory and other nontariff barriers that have historically restricted access

by american farmers, manufacturers, and service providers. to the south korean market with growing difficulties, the health of our economy proposed, in my opinion this will be a win-win situation. a win for our workers, a win for our businesses, and a win for our consumers. but perhaps the most compelling argument supporting free trade agreement with this important ally of ours is the very reason that we are gathered here in support of house resolution 309, the geopolitical factors in east asia, north korea has recently destabilized actions necessary states a firm and tangible u.s. commitment in the region and realizing that the free trade agreement would send the right message to both north and south korea. we seek an even stronger and more comprehensive economic trade relationship with our important ally, the republic of korea. with that i would like to reserve the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from american samoa reserves the balance of his time of the the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. bilirakis: mr. speaker, i yield mr. royce who is the chairman, ranking member of the subcommittee on terrorism and nonproliferation and trade, member from california. as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. royce: i thank the gentleman. i rise in support of congressman peter king of new york's legislation. i think it's very important at this point in time to recognize as we have discussed today the importance of that relationship that we have with south korea and recognize also just how much of a test north koreans' provocative actions have been for our allies in south korea. if we think back to the after effect of the korean war and how south korea lay in ruins and think today about the fact that south korea has one of the highest per capita incomes in

the world, and yet we look at north korea it has the lowest. it is truly dramatic. i have been in north korea and it is phenomenal to me to see the kind of devastation that that misrule has led in terms of the population. the stunted growth, malnutrition that can you see when you meet people. but particularly for our friends in south korea who today are one of our strongest trading partners, particularly for them at this point in time when we see this north korean foreign policy which has always been aggressive, but lately has included long-range missile tests, has included three stage icbm's, includes booting u.n. inspectors from the country. the sentencing of laura ling and euna lee, two young american

journalists sentencing them to 12 years hard labor. the ongoing counterfeiting of u.s. $100 bills, missile proliferation out of north korea. drug trafficking and other illicit activities. so many illicit activities i think some of us are confounded by the fact that almost half of the hard currency that goes into that regime is money they make through illicit activities. and now north korea's conducted a second underground nuclear test in three years. we are in the myth of a -- midst of a leadership struggle and many expect as a result more provocations, more missile tests, more nuclear tests over the ensuing months. weeks after the north korean test, the u.n. security council has passed a waterdown -- watereddown resolution. just after the previous admission did -- administration

did, this action will be touted, it will be touted by our spokesman, as an effective response. we have heard this story before, unfortunately. it is not an effective response, and it is not because, frankly, with the lowest common denominator u.n. resolution approach where china and russia get that opportunity to water down that resolution so that it won't be enforced effectively, frankly we come to a conclusion. and the conclusion for me and i follow this issue -- followed this issue for many years is that the united states can achieve an awful lot by deploying measures to further undercut north korea's economy and the target -- and target its proliferation activities. we have found that the source of doing that before, we should do it again. past attempts to squeeze the wallet of north korea have proven very successful. when banks from across asia

refuse to do business with the north koreans after a bank in ma cau -- macau was shut down, it brought enormous pressure. it was at a point where north korea where the previous ruler, kim jong il, temporarily the ruler, could not pay his generals. that was until this effort was dropped with the belief that north korea would bargain its nuclear program away. those sanctions were lifted. north korea got back on its feet. the work that they were doing on missile proliferation could begin again because they had the hard currency again. there are reports that north korean counterfeiting of our $100 bills has been ramped up in recent months. news reports indicate that south korea has given us the information on between 10 and 20 north korean bank accounts. most in china, one in

switzerland. one former u.s. official has called that macau bank, and i have been there, we have seen those $100 bills, he calls that the tip of the iceberg of north korean illicit activity. we know what to do now. we know what worked in terms of shutting them down when we were willing to do it. so if we have the will, we can do that again. mr. speaker, north korea's second nuclear test in three years offers a silver lining. clarity of the intentions of that regime. in case we didn't know it before, a case we didn't suspect it when we found they were helping syria on the banks of the euphrates, when they were helping syria develop nuclear program, north korea's dropped the pretense of being willing to negotiate away its nuclear program. we have learned as peter king, our colleague from new york has told us, about the work done on

uranium enrichment in addition to the plutonium program. they had a secret underground program we never knew about. the south korean president who will be visiting washington this week advocated for a new approach with respect to the six-party talks that south korea, our ally for over 60 years, is pressing for a fresh approach. should speak volumes to us and i hope we are listening. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from american samoa. mr. faleomavaega: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. faleomavaega: mr. speaker, i want to thank my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from california, for his comments. certainly one of the most recognized experts that we have in the house as far as issues dealing with the korean peninsula and do thank him for his thoughts and sentiments on this important issue.

once again, mr. speaker, i wish to thank my good friend, the gentleman from new york, mr. king, and also mr. meeks, for offering this important resolution. and especially also the chairman of our committee, mr. berman, and also our senior ranking member, ms. ros-lehtinen, for their leadership and their support in bringing this bill before the floor. i ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution and offering president lee our best wishes for a pleasant visit to washington and successful summit with president obama sometime this week. with that, mr. speaker, unless my good friend wishes to yield first. mr. bilirakis: i'd like to close if that's ok. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. the gentleman from florida. mr. bilirakis: once again i want to thank my good friend, peter king, the ranking member on the homeland security committee, for introducing this very important resolution, very timely as well. and i urge quick and unanimous passage. i yield back the balance of my time. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from american samoa. mr. faleomavaega: i also yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 309, as amended. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman rise? mr. faleomavaega: i move to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 479. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 439. resolution honoring the contributions of takamiyama daigoro and to united states-japan relations. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from american samoa, mr. faleomavaega, and the gentleman from florida, mr. bilirakis, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the

gentleman from american samoa. mr. faleomavaega: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. faleomavaega: and revise and extend on the resolution. mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of this resolution recognizing the contributions of takamiyama daigoro to the sport of sumo wrestling, the most ancient sport in japan, and the u.s.-japan relationship. i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, june 15, 2009, marks the day before tacka meama's 65th birthday when those in sumo must retire. over the course of this exceptional 45-year career, takamiyama daigoro, not only achieved great success as a sportsman, but also built enduring bridges -- building gaps and bridges between the united states and the people and government of