,,iii #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #ib ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #bc1 #bjag,mr4 ,lee 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,hatch1 ,mrs4 ,fischer1 ,mr4 ,sasse1 ,mr4 ,coons1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 ,mr4 ,flake1 and ,mr4 ,gardner7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,,resolution ,expressing concern over the disappearance of ,david ,sneddon1 and for other purposes4 ,whereas ,david ,louis ,sneddon is a ,united ,states citizen who disappeared while touring the ,yunnan ,province in the ,people's ,republic of ,china as a university student on ,august #ad1 #bjjd1 at the age of #bd2 ,whereas ,david had last reported to family members prior to his disappearance that he intended to hike the ,tiger ,leaping ,gorge in the ,yunnan ,province before returning to the ,united ,states and had placed a down payment on student housing for the upcoming academic year1 planned business meetings1 and scheduled law school entrance examinations in the ,united ,states for the fall2 ,whereas ,people's ,republic of ,china officials have reported to the ,department of ,state and the family of ,david that he most likely died by falling into the ,jinsha ,river while hiking the ,tiger ,leaping ,gorge1 although no physical evidence or eyewitness testimony exists to support this conclusion2 ,whereas there is evidence indicating that ,david did not fall into the river when he traveled through the gorge1 including eyewitness testimonies from people who saw ,david alive and spoke to him in person after his hike1 as recorded by members of ,david's family and by embassy officials from the ,department of ,state in the months after his disappearance2 ,whereas family members searching for ,david shortly after he went missing obtained eyewitness accounts that ,david stayed overnight in several guesthouses during and after his safe hike through the gorge1 and these guesthouse locations suggest that ,david disappeared after passing through the gorge1 but the guest registers recording the names and passport numbers of foreign overnight guests could not be accessed2 ,whereas ,chinese officials have reported that evidence does not exist that ,david was a victim of violent crime1 or a resident in a local hospital1 prison1 or mental institution at the time of his disappearance1 and no attempt has been made to use ,david's passport since the time of his disappearance1 nor has any money been withdrawn from his bank account since that time2 ,whereas ,david ,sneddon is the only ,united ,states citizen to disappear without explanation in the ,people's ,republic of ,china since the normalization of relations between the ,united ,states and ,china during the administration of ,president ,richard ,nixon2 ,whereas investigative reporters and nongovernmental organizations with expertise in the ,asia-,pacific region1 and in some cases particular expertise in the ,asian ,underground ,railroad and ,north ,korea's documented program to kidnap citizens of foreign nations for espionage purposes1 have repeatedly raised the possibility that the ,government of the ,democratic ,people's ,republic of ,korea 7,,dprk7 was involved in ,david's disappearance2 and ,whereas investigative reporters and nongovernmental organizations who have reviewed ,david's case believe it is possible that the ,government of ,north ,korea was involved in ,david's disappearance because-- 7#a7 the ,yunnan ,province is regarded by regional experts as an area frequently trafficked by ,north ,korean refugees and their support networks1 and the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china allows ,north ,korean agents to operate throughout the region to repatriate refugees1 such as prominent ,north ,korean defector ,kang ,byong-sop and members of his family who were captured near the ,china-,laos border just weeks prior to ,david's disappearance2 7#b7 in #bjjb1 ,north ,korean officials acknowledged that the ,government of ,north ,korea has carried out a policy since the #aigjs of abducting foreign citizens and holding them captive in ,north ,korea for the purpose of training its intelligence and military personnel in critical language and culture skills to infiltrate foreign nations2 7#c7 ,charles ,robert ,jenkins1 a ,united ,states soldier who deserted his unit in ,south ,korea in #aife and was held captive in ,north ,korea for nearly #dj years1 left ,north ,korea in ,july #bjjd 7one month before ,david disappeared in ,china7 and ,jenkins reported that he was forced to teach ,english to ,north ,korean intelligence and military personnel while in captivity2 7#d7 ,david ,sneddon is fluent in the ,korean language and was learning ,mandarin1 skills that could have been appealing to the ,government of ,north ,korea after ,charles ,jenkins left the country2 7#e7 tensions between the ,united ,states and ,north ,korea were heightened during the summer of #bjjd due to recent approval of the ,north ,korean ,human ,rights ,act of #bjjd 7,public ,law #ajh-ccc7 that increased ,united ,states aid to refugees fleeing ,north ,korea1 prompting the ,government of ,north ,korea to issue a press release warning the ,united ,states to drop its hostile policy2 7#f7 ,david ,sneddon's disappearance fits a known pattern often seen in the abduction of foreigners by the ,government of ,north ,korea1 including the fact that ,david disappeared the day before ,north ,korea's ,liberation ,day patriotic national holiday1 and the ,government of ,north ,korea has a demonstrated history of provocations near dates it deems historically significant2 7#g7 a well-reputed ,japanese non-profit specializing in ,north ,korean abductions shared with the ,united ,states its expert analysis in #bjab about information it stated was received from a reliable source that a ,united ,states university student largely matching ,david ,sneddon's description was taken from ,china by ,north ,korean agents in ,august #bjjd2 and 7#h7 commentary published in the ,wall ,street ,journal in #bjac cited experts looking at the ,sneddon case who concluded that it is most probable that a ,u4,s4 national has been abducted to ,north ,korea1 and there is a strong possibility that ,north ,korea kidnapped the ,american3 ,now1 therefore1 be it-- that the ,senate-- 7#a7 expresses its ongoing concern about the disappearance of ,david ,louis ,sneddon in ,yunnan ,province1 ,people's ,republic of ,china1 in ,august1 #bjjd2 7#b7 directs the ,department of ,state and the intelligence community to jointly continue investigations and to consider all plausible explanations for ,david's disappearance1 including the possibility of abduction by the ,government of the ,democratic ,people's ,republic of ,korea2 7#c7 urges the ,department of ,state and the intelligence community to coordinate investigations with the ,governments of the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 ,japan1 and ,south ,korea and solicit information from appropriate regional affairs and law enforcement experts on plausible explanations for ,david's disappearance2 7#d7 encourages the ,department of ,state and the intelligence community to work with foreign governments known to have diplomatic influence with the ,government of the ,democratic ,people's ,republic of ,korea to better investigate the possibility of the involvement of the ,government of the ,democratic ,people's ,republic of ,korea in ,david ,sneddon's disappearance and to possibly seek his recovery2 and 7#e7 requests that the ,department of ,state and the intelligence community continue to work with and inform ,congress and the family of ,david ,sneddon on efforts to possibly recover ,david and to resolve his disappearance4