Tensions between the United States and North Korea have heightened in recent weeks. Hanford Republican Congressman David Valadao recently returned from a trip to South Korea and Japan. He spoke with Valley Public Radio about his trip and what he learned. Interview transcript highlights: Q: Why did you make the trip to South Korea? “I sit on the Appropriations Committee and one of my sub-committees is the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Committee. The fact is that we have about 50,000 troops in Japan and just under 30,000 in South Korea. There is obviously base construction. There is construction of a lot of different facilities that have to deal with our military forces there.” Q: What is the feeling like on the ground in South Korea? A: “At the border you can tell things are a little more tense with those who are actually there. And that would go for both the South Koreans and the American military. But throughout the community, in the evenings, or in the daytime at the
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