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

Date: July 11, 2005
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Animals and Wildlife


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)

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Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for overseeing this important resolution that was offered by the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde).

Mr. Speaker, over the past 50 years, the North Korea Government has systematically kidnapped hundreds of innocent citizens of foreign countries. Young men and women from Japan and South Korea have been kidnapped by North Korean agents from beaches in Japan, fishing boats off the South Korean coast, and the border region of China near North Korea. Left behind have been hundreds of families desperately seeking the return of their loved ones.

While a few Japanese citizens were finally allowed to return to their families in Japan in 2002, many more remain behind, along with hundreds of kidnapped citizens from South Korea.

Mr. Speaker, the United States has many issues which must be negotiated with the North Koreans, from their nuclear program to human rights. We are therefore encouraged by the announcement over the weekend that the Six-Party Talks will resume at the end of July in Beijing. This resolution makes it clear that the issue of North Korean abductees must be part of any dialogue with the North Korean leadership and that our countries will never have fully normal relations until all questions surrounding the abductees have been answered.

Mr. Speaker, as we meet today, there are hundreds of Japanese and South Korean families desperately seeking knowledge about long lost relatives kidnapped by North Korea. It is our duty to make every effort to reunite these families with their loved ones and to get them the information they have been seeking for decades.

I strongly support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do so as well.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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