[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 587 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 587

Encouraging reunions of Korean Americans who were divided by the Korean 
                War from their relatives in North Korea.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 20, 2014

     Mr. Kirk (for himself and Mr. Warner) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Encouraging reunions of Korean Americans who were divided by the Korean 
                War from their relatives in North Korea.

Whereas the division of the Korean Peninsula into the Republic of Korea 
        (referred to in this Resolution as ``South Korea'') and the Democratic 
        People's Republic of Korea (referred to in this Resolution as ``North 
        Korea'') separated more than 10,000,000 Koreans from their family 
        members;
Whereas since the signing of the Korean War armistice agreement on July 27, 
        1953, there has been little to no contact between Korean Americans and 
        their family members who remain in North Korea;
Whereas North and South Korea first agreed to divided family reunions in 1985 
        and have since held 19 face-to-face reunions and 7 video-link reunions;
Whereas the aforementioned reunions have subsequently given approximately 22,000 
        Koreans the opportunity to briefly reunite with their loved ones;
Whereas the most recent family reunions between North Korea and South Korea took 
        place in February 2014 after a suspension of more than 3 years;
Whereas the United States and North Korea do not maintain diplomatic relations, 
        and certain limitations exist for Korean Americans to participate in 
        inter-Korean family reunions;
Whereas more than 1,700,000 Americans are of Korean descent;
Whereas the number of first generation Korean and Korean American divided family 
        members is rapidly diminishing given their advanced age;
Whereas many Korean Americans with family members in North Korea have not seen 
        or communicated with their relatives in more than 60 years;
Whereas Korean Americans and North Koreans both continue to suffer from the 
        tragedy of being divided from their loved ones;
Whereas the inclusion of Korean American families in the reunion process would 
        constitute a positive humanitarian gesture by North Korea and contribute 
        to the long-term goal of peace on the Korean Peninsula shared by the 
        Governments of North Korea, of South Korea, and of the United States;
Whereas the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 
        110-181) requires the President to submit a report to Congress every 180 
        days on ``efforts, if any, of the United States Government to facilitate 
        family reunions between United States citizens and their relatives in 
        North Korea''; and
Whereas in the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011 (Public Law 111-242), 
        Congress urged ``the Special Representative on North Korea Policy, as 
        the senior official handling North Korea issues, to prioritize the 
        issues involving Korean divided families and, if necessary, to appoint a 
        coordinator for such families'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the significance of North Korea's past 
        willingness to resume reunions of divided family members 
        between North Korea and South Korea;
            (2) acknowledges North Korea's release in November 2014 of 
        incarcerated American citizens Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller;
            (3) encourages North Korea to permit reunions between 
        Korean Americans and their relatives still living in North 
        Korea;
            (4) calls on the Department of State to further prioritize 
        efforts to reunite Korean Americans with their divided family 
        members;
            (5) acknowledges the efforts of the American Red Cross to 
        open channels of communication between Korean Americans and 
        their family members who remain in North Korea;
            (6) encourages the Government of South Korea to include 
        United States citizens in future family reunions planned with 
        North Korea; and
            (7) praises humanitarian efforts to reunite all individuals 
        of Korean descent with their relatives and engender a lasting 
        peace on the Korean Peninsula.
                                 <all>