Sec. 1268. Sense of Congress on the importance of the United States alliance with the Republic of Korea
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Congress makes the following findings: The Government of North Korea has repeatedly violated its commitments to the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of its nuclear weapons programs. Based on its past actions, including the transfer of sensitive nuclear and missile technology to state sponsors of terrorism, North Korea poses a grave risk for the proliferation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. North Korea has— unilaterally withdrawn from the Korean War Armistice Agreement, done at Panmunjom, Korea, July 27, 1953; and committed provocations against South Korea— by sinking the warship Cheonan and killing 46 of her crew on March 26, 2010; by shelling Yeonpyeong Island and killing 4 South Korea civilians on November 23, 2010; and by its involvement in the DarkSeoul cyberattacks against the financial and communications interests of the Republic of Korea on March 20, 2013.
North Korea maintains a system of brutal political prison camps that contain as many as 200,000 men, women, and children, who are— kept in atrocious living conditions with insufficient food, clothing, and medical care; and under constant fear of rape, torture, or arbitrary execution. The Government of North Korea has provided technical support and conducted destructive and coercive cyberattacks including against Sony Pictures Entertainment and other United States persons. The conduct of the Government of North Korea poses an imminent threat to— the security of the United States and its allies; the global economy; the safety of members of the United States Armed Forces; the integrity of the global financial system; the integrity of global nonproliferation programs; and the people of North Korea.
It is the sense of Congress that, in order to achieve the peaceful disarmament of North Korea, the United States should— reaffirm the commitment of the United States to defending our allies in the region, including through the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to the Republic of Korea, and the commitment to provide extended deterrence, guaranteed by the full spectrum of United States defense capabilities, including conventional capabilities, missile defense, and the nuclear umbrella; support ongoing efforts to strengthen the alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea alliance, to protect the 28,500 members of the United States Armed Forces stationed on the Korean Peninsula, and to defend the alliance against any and all provocations committed by the North Korea regime; and support efforts to deepen trilateral coordination and cooperation between the United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan, to address the grave and growing threat of the ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons programs of North Korea.