Sam Brownback: “I want to put before the body a situation that is happening right now in North Korea. I put a hold on our nominee to be…”

“I want to put before the body a situation that is happening right now in North Korea. I put a hold on our nominee to be the Ambassador to the Republic of South Korea. I want to explain why I am doing that. I want to show why I am doing that. Then I want to raise some issues on human rights and why we need to be a lot more involved and pushy about what is taking place in North Korea. I was encouraged last week in a meeting I had with the new President of South Korea, Mr. Lee Myung Bak, at a meeting hosted by the Senate leadership. I was encouraged to hear his interest in dealing with the human rights situation--or lack thereof, of human rights--in North Korea. He is going to be more willing to work with us than the last Korean administration in South Korea. I was pleased to see his willingness to work with us and support us on the nuclear negotiations in which the Korean Peninsula would be a nuclear-free zone--although that is not the case. We have seen what North Korea has done in their willingness to proliferate. I told the President of South Korea--and he agreed--we must see real and verified results with the North Korean regime, not only on nuclear activities but also on the issue of human rights. We are not seeing either.”