Pierce Today

Washington, D.C.— Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), along with Representatives Andy Kim (NJ-03), Young Kim (CA-40), and Michelle Steel (CA-45)led a bipartisan group of 40 Members of Congress in writing to President Biden ahead of President Yoon’s State Visit to mark the 70th anniversary of the United States and the Republic of Korea signing the Mutual Defense Treaty. 

“[W]e encourage you to work with President Yoon to chart a course that will deepen our countries’ economic ties, strengthen the resilience of critical supply chains, increase people-to-people exchanges, and fortify our mutual defense capabilities. We stand ready to lend bipartisan support to achieve these goals,” wrote the group.

They added later, "many of the world’s most pressing concerns are in the ROK’s neighborhood, and their insight and security cooperation will be paramount in any successful outcome as both countries work together to replicate the success of the last 70 years over the decades to come. The United States and ROK security partnership is the envy of the world. This close cooperation in addressing these challenges will not only make the world safer but presents an opportunity for cooperative innovation as we work together to successfully solve these complex problems.”

You can read the entire letter here or below.

Dear President Biden: 

We write to commend you for hosting President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee of the Republic of Korea for a State Visit to the United States. As only the second State Visit to be held during your presidency, the extension of the invitation to President Yoon rightly underscores the close ties and strong bond our two countries share.

The foundation of the close ties and strong bond was forged 70 years ago as our brave militaries fought alongside each other and sought to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula. The Armistice and the Mutual Defense Treaty formed the backbone of a partnership that has since grown to become a gold standard alliance. As we celebrate this great achievement this year, we encourage you to use this State visit to have both nations recommit ourselves to a strong partnership for the next 70 years.  

 To this end, we encourage you to work with President Yoon to chart a course to deepen our economic ties, strengthen the resilience of critical supply chains, increase people-to-people exchanges, and fortify our already formidable mutual defense capabilities. We stand ready to lend bipartisan support to achieve these goals.

Many of the world’s most pressing concerns are in the ROK’s neighborhood and their insight and security cooperation will be paramount in any successful outcome as both countries work together to replicate the success of the last 70 years over the decades to come. The United States and ROK security partnership is the envy of the world. This close cooperation in addressing these challenges will not only make the world safer but presents an opportunity for cooperative innovation as we work together to successfully solve these complex problems.

 Our success going forward will continue to be driven by the extraordinary innovation that propelled the United States and the ROK’s growth, and both nations must continue to be engines driving the cutting-edge technology of the next century. While doing so, our countries must lead the way together to create a global architecture for tech and data security that will protect our ability to engage in commerce while protecting consumer privacy and strengthening national security for both nations. There is so much more potential we can tap to bring this critical partnership to even higher levels. 

We again welcome and commend your work to further strengthen the historic relationship between the United States and the ROK. We look forward to working with you on all aspects of this relationship to ensure that the next 70 years are as fruitful and impactful as the previous 7 decades we celebrate this year.

U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. She is the Congressional Black Caucus whip, a member of the New Democrat Coalition, one of the first Korean-American women elected to Congress, and the first African-American elected to represent the Pacific Northwest at the federal level. 

Original source can be found here.