[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 410 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 410

       Encouraging reunions of divided Korean-American families.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 30, 2019

  Ms. Bass (for herself, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Clarke of New 
 York, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Sablan, Ms. Judy Chu of California, Ms. Meng, 
   Mr. Khanna, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Cisneros, and Mr. Kim) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
       Encouraging reunions of divided Korean-American families.

Whereas the Republic of Korea (in this resolution referred to as ``South 
        Korea'') and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (in this 
        resolution referred to as ``North Korea'') remain divided since the 
        armistice agreement was signed on July 27, 1953;
Whereas the division of the Korean Peninsula separated more than 10,000,000 
        Korean family members, including some who are now citizens of the United 
        States;
Whereas there have been 21 rounds of family reunions between South Koreans and 
        North Koreans along the border since 2000;
Whereas Congress signaled its support for family reunions between United States 
        citizens and their relatives in North Korea in section 1265 of the 
        National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110-
        181), signed into law by President George W. Bush on January 28, 2008;
Whereas most of the population of divided family members in the United States, 
        initially estimated at 100,000 in 2001, has significantly dwindled as 
        many of the individuals have passed away;
Whereas the summit between North Korea and South Korea on April 27, 2018, has 
        prioritized family reunions;
Whereas the United States and North Korea have engaged in talks during 2 
        historic summits in June 2018 in Singapore and February 2019 in Hanoi; 
        and
Whereas many Korean Americans are waiting for a chance to meet their relatives 
        in North Korea for the first time in more than 60 years: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) calls on the United States and North Korea to begin the 
        process of reuniting Korean-American divided family members 
        with their immediate relatives within 60 days of the adoption 
        of this resolution through ways such as--
                    (A) exchanging information of divided family 
                members in the United States and North Korea who are 
                willing and able to participate in a pilot program for 
                family reunions;
                    (B) finding matches for members on the divided 
                family member registry through organizations such as 
                the Red Cross; and
                    (C) working with the Government of South Korea to 
                include American citizens in inter-Korean video 
                reunions;
            (2) reconfirms the institution of family as inalienable 
        and, accordingly, urges the restoration of contact between 
        divided families physically, literarily, or virtually; and
            (3) calls on the United States and North Korea to pursue 
        reunions as a humanitarian priority of immediate concern, 
        delinked as much as possible from conflict, before attempts at 
        or achievement of normalized relations are made.
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