Recognizing Park Geun-Hye, President of the Republic of Korea
Floor Speech
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Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Park Geun-hye, president of the Republic of Korea, on the occasion of her second visit to Washington, D.C.
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. As Korea has transformed itself in six decades from a war torn economy into the thirteenth largest economy in the world, as well as an indispensable ally and linchpin of regional peace and stability in Northeast Asia, it stands as one of America's greatest foreign policy success stories of the post-World War II era.
Today Korea is the sixth largest trading partner of the United States, the fifth largest market for agricultural goods, and the third largest destination for U.S. foreign direct investment in the Asia-Pacific region. Bilateral trade between our two nations reached $101.3 billion in 2013 alone, cemented by the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. Overall, American exports to Korea reached a record level of $44.5 billion last year. Trade with Korea injects billions of dollars into the U.S. economy, supporting thousands of American jobs.
Next week, Korean President Park Geun-hye will be making her second visit to Washington, D.C. While I regret not being here to welcome her in person, I want to express my heartfelt welcome and convey my best wishes for her every success.
I know that President Park's agenda for her visit will be important and robust. There are many challenges that confront us in the region, as shown by the recent incident along the Demilitarized Zone in which two South Korean soldiers were maimed by land mines laid by the North. Yet we shall remain resolute in countering North Korean provocations, and our iron-clad alliance will only be strengthened by President Park's visit.
In addition, I look forward to hearing about expanded U.S.-Korea cooperation in other areas including energy, space, health and cybersecurity.
Again, I offer my best wishes to President Park on a productive and successful visit and I ask my colleagues to join me with their own expressions of friendship and support.
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