President Park Geun-hye met with a delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives led by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on April 2 in Seoul. They discussed Korea-U.S. relations and current issues on the Korean Peninsula and across Northeast Asia. The delegation members included Rep. Charles Rangel, Rep. Sander Levin and Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick.


Welcoming Rep. Pelosi for her first visit to Korea in 18 years, President Park stressed that the Korea-U.S. alliance is now stronger than ever before. She said that the success of the alliance was made possible because of bipartisan support from the U.S. House. She asked for it to continue to play a constructive role in terms of the two countries' bilateral relations.


President Park noted that the unification of Korea would finally solve many complicated issues, such as the development of North Korean nuclear weapons and its human rights violations. She expressed gratitude to the U.S. House for its active support for the Korean government's efforts to bring peace to the peninsula, and asked for its continued support and interest.

Rep. Pelosi congratulated Korea on holding the recent Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting. President Park replied with her thanks, and went on to explain Korea's efforts to improve Korea-Japan relations in light of the 50th anniversary of their normalization of ties and of the 70th anniversary of Korean independence.

President Park explained the urgency of the issue concerning people who, during colonial times, were coerced into sexual slavery for the Japanese military, as most of the surviving victims are nearing their 90s. Regarding this issue, Rep. Pelosi, who was speaker of the House when a resolution on the issue was passed in the U.S. in 2007, and fellow delegation member Rep. Doris Matsui expressed their agreement on the need to address the issue as a matter of human rights and of women's rights.

By Lee Seung-ah
Photos: Cheong Wa Dae
Korea.net Staff Writer
slee27@korea.kr