Sam Brownback: “I believe the administration's announcement yesterday about lifting sanctions on North Korea and removing it from the…”

“I believe the administration's announcement yesterday about lifting sanctions on North Korea and removing it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism is shocking, is sad, and it belies the facts. I say 'shocking' because of the extent to which we have allowed Kim Jung Il to manipulate the situations and the negotiations. I know some are calling this a victory, but I want us to just review what has taken place and the facts on the ground and the facts in North Korea and the facts for the North Korean people. I have spoken several times on this floor about North Korea, about its abysmal record of human rights, about the gulag system that is taking place, about 10 percent of its population being killed over the last 15 years through either starvation, depravation, or the gulag system. When this place finally opens up, we are going to see a level of depravity that is going to rival some of the worst situations we have seen in the last 50 years.”