[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 152 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 152
Calling for a formal end of the Korean war.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 26, 2019
Mr. Khanna (for himself, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Lee of California,
Ms. Haaland, Ms. Omar, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Norton, Ms. Schakowsky,
Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Rush, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Ms. Gabbard, Mr.
Espaillat, Mr. Kim, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Judy Chu of California, Mr. Serrano,
Ms. Moore, and Ms. Velazquez) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Calling for a formal end of the Korean war.
Whereas the Korean war remains one of the world's longest ongoing armed
conflicts, in which the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North
Korea), the Republic of Korea (South Korea), the United States, and 20
other nations have suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties and
losses, and millions of civilians killed and wounded;
Whereas, on June 25, 1950, the armed forces of North Korea attacked South Korea,
an action which the United Nations Security Council determined
constituted a breach of the peace under chapter VII of the United
Nations Charter, after which the United States militarily intervened in
the conflict in defense of South Korea;
Whereas, on July 27, 1953, the commander in chief of the United Nations Command
signed an Armistice Agreement with the supreme commander of the North
Korean People's Army and the commander of the Chinese People's
Volunteers, aiming, by its terms, to ``insure a complete cessation of
hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea until a final
peaceful settlement is achieved'';
Whereas the Armistice Agreement, by its terms, neither formally ended the war
nor represented a final peaceful settlement;
Whereas the persistence of a state of war represents a constant risk and threat
to the national security of the United States and its allies;
Whereas in Article III of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States of
America and the Republic of Korea, signed at Washington on October 1,
1953, and still in force today, the United States recognized that an
armed attack on South Korea would be dangerous to the peace and safety
of the United States, and declared that the United States would act in
accordance with its constitutional principles to meet the common danger
of such an armed attack;
Whereas unprovoked military action against North Korea would pose extraordinary
risks to the United States, United States troops and citizens in the
region, United States allies, and security in Northeast Asia and would
require explicit authorization by Congress under article I of the United
States Constitution;
Whereas, on April 27, 2018, in Panmunjom, the leaders of South Korea and North
Korea ``solemnly declared'' that ``there will be no more war and a new
era of peace has begun on the Korean peninsula'', and committed ``to
declare the end of war'' on the Korean peninsula 65 years after the
signing of the Armistice Agreement, and further committing to actively
promote meetings involving the United States ``with a view to replacing
the Armistice Agreement with a peace agreement and establishing a
permanent and solid peace regime'';
Whereas, on June 12, 2018, in Singapore, the leaders of the United States and
North Korea committed ``to establish new relations in accordance with
the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and
prosperity'';
Whereas, on September 25, 2018, President of South Korea Moon Jae-in publicly
affirmed that it is ``simply not true'' that an end-of-war declaration
would affect the status of the United Nations Command or of United
States Forces in Korea, and further stated that the stationing of United
States Forces in Korea ``is simply a matter for the ROK-U.S. alliance to
decide regardless of a declaration to end the Korean war or the signing
of a peace treaty'';
Whereas the failure to come to a final peace settlement on the Korean peninsula
has exerted long-term negative pressures on human rights and
humanitarian conditions, such as the restriction of civil liberties and
redirection of national resources to defense and excessive military
spending rather than to the livelihoods of Americans and the Korean
peoples;
Whereas the United Nations Security Council has determined that the ongoing
nuclear- and ballistic-missile-related activities of North Korea
continue to pose a threat to international peace and security;
Whereas the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) remains a
cornerstone of the nuclear nonproliferation regime and the United States
has a duty to seek universal adherence to and compliance with the NPT;
Whereas an end to the state of war would not legally imply recognition of North
Korea as a nuclear weapons state, as the only states that can be
recognized as such under the NPT are those which have ``manufactured and
exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to
January 1, 1967''; and
Whereas Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun stated on January
31, 2019, that ``the Trump administration is ready to end this war'',
that ``We are not going to invade North Korea'', and that ``We are not
seeking to topple the North Korean regime'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) pays tribute to the sacrifices of the veterans of the
Korean war, its victims, and the families divided since the
initial outbreak of war;
(2) calls for continued cooperative efforts to repatriate
the remains of service members;
(3) calls for reunions of divided Korean and Korean-
American families, people-to-people exchanges, and continued
humanitarian cooperation;
(4) affirms that neither a declaration regarding the end of
the Korean war nor a final peaceful settlement by itself would
have any legal effect on the commitments set forth in the 1953
Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States of America and
the Republic of Korea, which by its terms is set to ``remain in
force indefinitely'' and which requires the United States to
respond immediately and firmly to the common danger that any
armed attack on South Korea would pose to both countries;
(5) affirms its strong agreement with the statement of the
President of South Korea Moon Jae-in that questions about the
stationing of United States Armed Forces in South Korea is
ultimately a matter for the United States and South Korea to
decide together regardless of whether a declaration to end the
Korean war or any final peaceful settlement is achieved;
(6) affirms that the United States does not seek armed
conflict with North Korea;
(7) would welcome a statement by President Trump, in
coordination with South Korea, declaring the end of the state
of war with North Korea;
(8) supports ongoing diplomatic engagement among the United
States, South Korea, and North Korea to address the ongoing
nuclear- and ballistic-missile-related activities of North
Korea;
(9) calls for the conclusion of a binding peace agreement
constituting a formal and final end to the state of war between
North Korea, South Korea, and the United States, and calls for
serious, urgent diplomatic engagement in pursuit of that goal;
(10) affirms the vital role that women and other
marginalized groups who would be particularly vulnerable to any
resumption of active hostilities must play in building a
lasting, sustainable, and peaceful settlement, and calls on all
parties to take greater steps to include women and civil
society in ongoing discussions, as outlined in the Women,
Peace, and Security Act of 2017;
(11) affirms that the denuclearization of the Korean
peninsula and a final peaceful settlement cannot be achieved
absent meaningful, reciprocal actions and confidence-building
measures among all parties; and
(12) calls upon the President and Secretary of State, or
their designees, to detail for Congress and the American people
a clear roadmap for achieving a permanent peace regime and the
peaceful denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
<all>