[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 108 (Thursday, July 25, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5971-S5972]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 20--ENCOURAGING PEACE AND REUNIFICATION ON 
                          THE KOREAN PENINSULA

  Mr. KAINE (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Baucus, Mr. 
Wyden, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Tester, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
Donnelly, and Ms. Warren) submitted the following concurrent 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 20

       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'') 
     have never formally ended hostilities and have been 
     technically in a state of war since the Armistice Agreement 
     was signed on July 27, 1953;
       Whereas the United States, as representing the United 
     Nations Forces Command which was a signatory to the Armistice 
     Agreement, and with 28,500 of its troops currently stationed 
     in South Korea, has a stake in the progress towards peace and 
     reunification on the Korean Peninsula;
       Whereas progress towards peace and reunification on the 
     Korean Peninsula would mean greater security and prosperity 
     for the region and the world;
       Whereas, at the end of World War II, Korea officially 
     gained independence from Japanese rule, as agreed to at the 
     Cairo Conference on November 22, 1943, through November 26, 
     1943;
       Whereas, on August 10, 1945, the Korean Peninsula was 
     temporarily divided along the 38th parallel into two military 
     occupation zones commanded by the United States and the 
     Soviet Union;
       Whereas, on June 25, 1950, communist North Korea invaded 
     the South, thereby initiating the Korean War and diminishing 
     prospects for a peaceful unification of Korea;
       Whereas, during the Korean War, approximately 1,789,000 
     members of the United States Armed Forces served in-theater 
     along with the South Korean forces and 20 other members of 
     the United Nations to secure peace on the Korean Peninsula 
     and in the Asia-Pacific region;
       Whereas, since the end of the Korean War era, the United 
     States Armed Forces have remained in South Korea to promote 
     regional peace;
       Whereas provocations by the Government of North Korea in 
     recent years have escalated tension and instability in the 
     Asia-Pacific region;
       Whereas one of the largest obstacles to peace and 
     reunification on the Korean Peninsula is the presence of 
     nuclear weapons in North Korea;
       Whereas the refusal of the Government of North Korea to 
     denuclearize disrupts peace and security on the Korean 
     Peninsula;
       Whereas, beginning in 2003, the United States, along with 
     the two Koreas, Japan, the People's Republic of China, and 
     the Russian Federation, have engaged in six rounds of Six-
     Party Talks aimed at the verifiable and irreversible 
     denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and finding a 
     peaceful resolution to the security concerns resulting from 
     North Korea's nuclear development;
       Whereas the three-mile wide buffer zone between the two 
     Koreas, known as the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, is the most 
     heavily armed border in the world;
       Whereas the Korean War separated more than 10,000,000 
     Korean family members, including 100,000 Korean Americans 
     who, after 60 years of separation, are still waiting to see 
     their families in North Korea;

[[Page S5972]]

       Whereas reunification remains a long-term goal of South 
     Korea;
       Whereas South Korea and North Korea are both full members 
     of the United Nations, whose stated purpose includes 
     maintaining international peace and security, and to that end 
     ``take effective collective measures for the prevention and 
     removal of threats to the peace'';
       Whereas the Governments and people of the United States and 
     South Korea have continuously stood shoulder-to-shoulder to 
     promote and defend international peace and security, economic 
     prosperity, human rights, and the rule of law both on the 
     Korean Peninsula and beyond, and the denuclearization of 
     North Korea; and
       Whereas July 27, 2013, marks the 60th anniversary of the 
     Armistice Agreement of the Korean War: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) recognizes the historical importance of the Korean War, 
     which began on June 25, 1950;
       (2) honors the noble service and sacrifice of members of 
     the United States Armed Forces and the armed forces of allied 
     countries that have served in Korea since 1950;
       (3) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to its 
     alliance with South Korea for the betterment of peace and 
     prosperity on the Korean Peninsula; and
       (4) calls on the Government of North Korea to abide by 
     international law and cease its nuclear weapons program and 
     denuclearize completely in order to resume talks that could 
     eventually lead to peace and reunification.

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