Ed Royce: “What I want to share with the body is that, on February 12 of 2013, North Korea successfully carried out a nuclear…”

“What I want to share with the body is that, on February 12 of 2013, North Korea successfully carried out a nuclear test--a test in flagrant violation of numerous international sanctions and of numerous agreements that North Korea has made in the past. This test, which is the third time that North Korea has exploded a nuclear device, is a stark reminder that Kim Jong Un is determined to develop his nuclear arsenal while depriving North Koreans of their most basic human rights. When I say their ``most basic human rights,'' we had an opportunity to speak with the former propaganda minister of North Korea, who told us that 1.9 million North Koreans starved while this regime, in violating every agreement it had made with the international community, plowed forward with a plan to develop nuclear weapons. North Korea has literally spent billions on its nuclear and its three-stage ICBM program, and that is all money that could have provided enough food to feed this country for years. If you've ever been in North Korea, you've seen that the children there are malnourished. As a matter of fact, up to 50 percent of the children are so malnourished that it is estimated that it's going to affect their future development and their ability to really think conceptually because of the degree of deprivation there. In the meantime, it also continues to build up its military.…”