Political Quotes

“Mr. President, next month will be the 65th anniversary of the armistice that ended the battles and bloodshed of the Korean war. As I am sure my colleagues know, the Korean war was never officially ended. Over the last 65 years, we have seen hostility on the Korean Peninsula. We have seen North Korea develop nuclear weapons, raising security concerns, and active in cyber attacks and human rights violations. The list goes on and on in the context of a formal state of war between the north and the south. The United States has made major investments in this region as a result of our security concerns and our national interests. We helped rebuild Japan and South Korea, we developed allies that share our values, which is certainly in our interests, and we created a military deterrent against a belligerent North Korea. Yet, during this period of time, the Kim Jong Un regime in North Korea developed a nuclear weapons program, including delivery systems. It violated international commitments. The international community, led by the United States--I must say, empowered by this Congress, which gave the administration the ability to impose sanctions--with the leadership of the United States, sanctions had been imposed against North Korea, and those sanctions had impact. This year, we saw a breakthrough with there being some hope of security in the future.…”