Condemning Democratic People's Republic of Korea for Abduction and Continued Captivity of Citizens of the Republic of Korea and Japan

CONDEMNING DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA FOR ABDUCTION AND CONTINUED CAPTIVITY OF CITIZENS OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA AND JAPAN -- (House of Representatives - July 11, 2005)

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 168) condemning the Democratic People's Republic of Korea for the abductions and continued captivity of citizens of the Republic of Korea and Japan as acts of terrorism and gross violations of human rights, as amended.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution authored by the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde) which brings the largely untold story to the attention of the American people, as well as to the international community, of the continued involvement of the North Korean regime in the kidnapping of thousands of innocent people. These abductions began more than half a century ago according to a survey of the Korean National Red Cross, which documented the kidnappings of over 7,000 South Koreans during the Korean War.

Those abducted represent a wide cross-section of society from both South Korea and Japan: film producers and fishermen, housewives and ministers, airline attendants and university students, mothers and even children. North Korean agents did not discriminate in their cold and calculated selection of potential victims. Cases through the years include the 1977 abduction of a 13-year-old Japanese girl by North Korean frogmen who came ashore in her country.

As recently as August of 2004, a former North Korean, now a South Korean, passport holder, was reported by her husband as having been kidnapped in China by agents of North Korea.

Officially sanctioned kidnapping represents horrific behavior, and it raises the question as to whether abduction should be cited as terrorist activity. Should Pyongyang remain on the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism because of regime collusion in such reprehensible activity? The kidnapping and subsequent murder in Pakistan of American journalist Daniel Pearl in the months following the attacks of September 11 seems to have answered that question once and for all.

Organized kidnapping does constitute an act of terrorism. The fact that Pyongyang has conspired with the Japanese Red Army, a designated terrorist organization, is a clear indication of its own connection to terrorist activities.

The United States and other allies who fought together in the Korean War under the banner of the United Nations have a direct interest in the forced detention of certain individuals by the North Korean regime. Those detained include, according to a South Korean Ministry of National Defense estimate, over 500 South Korean prisoners of war held over half a century, against their will and in violation of the 1953 Korean War Armistice agreement. The fact that they had been held for more than 50 years in horrific conditions that include forced labor is of deep concern to both Congress and the people of the United States.

Those kidnapped also include a South Korean citizen who was then a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a South Korean missionary who is a spouse of a resident of the State of Illinois. Those cases are of direct concern to Members of Congress.

Mr. Speaker, we all recognize that resolution of the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula is of critical importance. We welcome Pyongyang's decision announced over the weekend to return to the Six-Party Talks later this month as a first step back from the brink. Let us hope this leads to concrete progress.

North Korea has asked for signs of respect from the United States in connection with its decision to return to the negotiating table in Beijing. However, the North Korean regime must recognize that in order to win the respect that it craves from the United States and the international community, it must begin to behave in acceptable ways. Continued gross human rights violations, including the abductions of persons from South Korea, Japan and other countries, are absolutely deplorable and will only bring additional dishonor to the North Korean regime, and certainly they are not means for winning the respect and acceptance by the international community.

Pyongyang should immediately cease and desist from carrying out abductions, release all victims of kidnappings and prisoners of war still alive in North Korea, and provide a full and verifiable accounting of all other cases. Only then can a reformed North Korea take its place as a full member in the community of nations.

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

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

http://thomas.loc.gov