[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 127, 113th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
KOREAN WAR--ARMISTICE AGREEMENT--60TH ANNIVERSARY
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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, 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 attacked the South,
thereby initiating the Korean War and diminishing prospects for a
peaceful unification of Korea;

Whereas, during the Korean War, more than 36,000 members of the United
States Armed Forces were killed and 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 North Korea's human rights abuses, suppression of dissent, and
hostility to South Korea remain significant obstacles to peace and
reunification on the Korean Peninsula;

Whereas North Korea's economic policies have led to extreme economic
privation for its citizens, whose quality of life ranks among the
world's lowest;

Whereas North Korea's proliferation of nuclear and missile technology
threatens international peace and stability;



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Whereas North Korea has systematically violated numerous International
Atomic Energy Agency and United Nations Security Council Resolutions
with respect to its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs;

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;

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 House of Representatives (the Senate 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 North Korea to respect the fundamental human
rights of its citizens, abandon and dismantle its nuclear
weapons program, and end its nuclear and missile proliferation
as integral steps toward peace and eventual reunification.

Agreed to August 1, 2013.