Washington, DC – Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today issued the following statement after a commission of investigators unanimously concluded last week that North Korea was responsible for the sinking of a South Korean naval ship in March.

“The government of South Korea and a group of international experts from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and other nations conducted a meticulous investigation into the cause of the sinking, and they unanimously concluded that North Korea was responsible for this heinous act,” Berman said. “This unprovoked and deliberate attack was a clear violation of the Korean War Armistice.”

Berman cosponsored and strongly supported the swift passage of H. Res. 1382, a House resolution expressing sympathy to the families of the South Korean sailors killed in the sinking, and condemning North Korea in the strongest possible terms for the attack.

“The international community must respond to Pyongyang’s belligerence by enforcing current U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea and considering the enactment of new multilateral and bilateral measures,” Berman added. “I strongly support South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s decision to cut off trade with North Korea, ban North Korean ships from South Korean waters, and refer this matter to the U.N. Security Council.”

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