Gardner leads bipartisan letter on importance of U.S.-South Korea alliance ahead of summit

U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) led a bipartisan letter on Friday highlighting the importance of the U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) alliance and the pursuit of solutions that neutralize threats from North Korea ahead of meetings this week in Washington.

Gardner coauthored the letter to President Donald Trump ahead of the president’s planned summit with Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-in. Gardner also called on the president to fully deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system in South Korea as quickly as possible.

Noting the key nature of the U.S.-ROK-alliance, the letter notes that 36,574 American troops died in the Korean War, and 28,500 American troops remain deployed in South Korea today.

“American and South Korean troops have fought side-by-side in all major wars the United States has fought since World War II,” the letter states. “We ask you to offer a firm assurance to President Moon that the bonds of our historic alliance are unbreakable and that the U.S. is fully committed to our defense treaty obligations with South Korea.”

Letter coauthors Gardner and U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) also requested that the president reiterate to Moon that the United States is committed to pursuing a range of multilateral sanctions with ROK, and to enhance those sanctions when warranted by North Korea’s actions.

“…We ask you to reiterate to President Moon that the decision to deploy THAAD was an alliance decision and protects both U.S. troops and millions of South Korean citizens, while not posing any threat to South Korea’s neighbors,” the letter states. It added that the United States condemns China’s economic and political retaliation against South Korean businesses and other sectors of the economy over the deployment of THAAD.

The senators concluded the letter by asking the president to pursue a bilateral economic engagement agenda with ROK, including securing a commitment to fully implement the Korean-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.

Also signing the letter were U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Todd Young (R-IN).