; Whereas the United States supports the Republic of Korea’s efforts at peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula and recognizes the critical importance of close policy coordination between Washington and Seoul; Whereas in February 2017, a United Nations investigatory body confirmed that North Korea attempted to sell key materials for constructing miniaturized nuclear warheads, and found that ballistic missile cooperation between Iran and North Korea was significant and meaningful ; Whereas the United States and South Korea share a commitment to democracy, human rights, and free market principles, as laid out in the 2009 U.S.-ROK Joint Vision Statement as the foundation for a 21st century strategic alliance based on shared values; Whereas the Republic of Korea actively contributes to peacekeeping, cybersecurity, non-proliferation, overseas development assistance, climate change mitigation, counterterrorism, and post-conflict stabilization; Whereas the Republic of Korea suffered economic retaliation from China for installing the United States Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) ballistic missile defense system, a measure necessitated by North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile belligerence; Whereas Korea is the world’s eleventh-largest economy and the sixth-largest goods trading partner of the United States, and creates bilateral trade and investment which supports 400,000 American jobs; Whereas the United States is the largest foreign direct investor in the Republic of Korea, and Korean investment in the United States is increasing; Whereas the Republic of Korea evolved from authoritarian governance to a vibrant, model democracy that embraces human rights and the rule of law in a region increasingly challenged by authoritarianism, which stands in stark contrast to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which commits human rights violations that do not have any parallel in the contemporary world according to a 2014 United Nations report