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CALLING FOR THE REPATRIATION OF POW/MIAs

AND ABDUCTEES FROM THE KOREAN WAR

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

ON

H. Res. 376

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

Serial No. 112–82

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

DAN BURTON, Indiana 

ELTON GALLEGLY, California 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

RON PAUL, Texas 

MIKE PENCE, Indiana 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

CONNIE MACK, Florida 

JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida 

JEAN SCHMIDT, Ohio 

BILL JOHNSON, Ohio 

DAVID RIVERA, Florida 

MIKE KELLY, Pennsylvania 

TIM GRIFFIN, Arkansas 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

ANN MARIE BUERKLE, New York 

RENEE ELLMERS, North Carolina 

ROBERT TURNER, New York 

HOWARD L. BERMAN, California 

GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

DENNIS CARDOZA, California 

BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

ALLYSON SCHWARTZ, Pennsylvania 

CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut 

FREDERICA WILSON, Florida 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

YLEEM D.S. POBLETE, Staff Director 

RICHARD J. KESSLER, Democratic Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois, Chairman 

RON PAUL, Texas 

BILL JOHNSON, Ohio 

DAN BURTON, Indiana 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

MIKE KELLY, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

FREDERICA WILSON, Florida 

GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

DENNIS CARDOZA, California 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

MARKUP OF 

H. Res. 376, Calling for the repatriation of POW/MIAs and abductees from 

the Korean War .................................................................................................... 2

Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H. Res. 376 offered by the 

Honorable Donald A. Manzullo, a Representative in Congress from the 

State of Illinois, and chairman, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific ...... 8

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD 

The Honorable Donald A. Manzullo: Prepared statement ................................... 15

The Honorable Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, a Representative in Congress from 

American Samoa: Prepared statement ............................................................... 18

APPENDIX 

Hearing notice .......................................................................................................... 22

Hearing minutes ...................................................................................................... 23

The Honorable Eni F.H. Faleomavaega: New York Times article submitted 

for the record ........................................................................................................ 24

(1)

CALLING FOR THE REPATRIATION OF POW/

MIAs AND ABDUCTEES FROM THE KOREAN 

WAR 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2011

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA AND THE PACIFIC, 

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, 

Washington, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 11:30 a.m., in room 

2226 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Donald A. Manzullo 

(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Mr. MANZULLO. The subcommittee will come to order. After the 

conclusion of this brief business meeting, we will proceed immediately to today’s hearing on the Compact of Free Association with 

the Republic of Palau. Pursuant to notice, for purposes of a markup, I call for House Resolution 376: Calling for the Repatriation of 

POW/MIAs and the Abductees from the Korean War. 

[H. Res. 376 follows:]

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Mr. MANZULLO. Without objection, the measure is considered 

read, and open for amendment at any point. Before recognizing myself and other members for statements, I have a bipartisan amendment in the nature of a substitute that makes a few changes to the 

underlying resolution. These edits and updates, which were sent to 

your offices yesterday, were carefully negotiated with the author, 

Mr. Rangel, and his staff. 

The clerk will report the amendment. 

Mr. GUTFRUCHT. Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H. 

Res. 376, offered by Mr. Manzullo of Illinois. Strike the preamble 

and insert——

Mr. MANZULLO. Without objection, the amendment in the nature 

of a substitute is considered read. 

[The amendment offered by Mr. Manzullo follows:]

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Mr. MANZULLO. All members are given leave to insert remarks 

on this measure into the record, should they decide to do so. I now 

recognize myself to speak on this measure. 

On June 25, 1950, the North Koreans initiated the Korean War 

by unleashing a torrent of death and destruction across the border 

against America’s ally, South Korea, in a brazen effort to reunite 

the divided peninsula under the oppressive red flag of communism. 

The legacy of the Korean War reverberates 61 years later, with a 

nuclear-armed North Korea still menacing peaceful nations and the 

hundreds of thousands of people it still holds as prisoners of war 

and abductees. 

Approximately 1.8 million members of the U.S. Armed Forces 

fought in Korea, alongside South Korea and United Nations forces. 

The sacrifices of the more than 128,600 Americans killed or wounded in that conflict will never be forgotten. Our friends in South 

Korea suffered equally with us in their darkest hour, with the 

added misery that the war was fought in their homeland. 

For so many families in the U.S and Korea, the war has never 

ended. The Defense Department reports that more than 8,000 

American servicemen as POW/MIAs in the conflict, with 5,500 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines in North Korea. Families all 

throughout this great country still do not have the closure they deserve after so many years, and it is time that North Korea told the 

truth about their whereabouts. 

In South Korea, it is estimated that as many as 73,000 

servicemembers were never reported by North Korea as POWs. 

Add to this the abduction of approximately 100,000 South Korean 

civilians, and we can finally have a clear picture of North Korea’s 

brutality. 

House Resolution 376 recognizes the plight of American and 

South Korean prisoners of war and civilian abductees still alive in 

North Korea. It calls on both the U.S. and South Korean Governments to thoroughly investigate any sightings of POWs and civilian 

abductees. The resolution also calls on North Korea to admit the 

kidnapping of over 100,000 people during the war, and to repatriate remaining POWs and civilian abductees as required by the 

Geneva Convention. 

The amendment in the nature of a substitute makes several 

changes to the base text of H. Res. 376. This amendment was 

drafted in coordination with the bill’s sponsor, Representative Rangel of New York, and makes a number of changes, too many to explain in the time I have for these remarks. 

Key items include: Recognition of the thousands of South Korean 

men forcibly conscripted into the North Korean Army; the abduction of South Korean civilians by North Korea in its attempts to 

communize the South; the hardship endured by South Korean families of the abducted civilians; North Korea’s refusal to acknowledge, account for, or repatriate abductees; and strong U.S. efforts 

to negotiate release of these civilians during the Korean War Armistice Commission Conference of 1953. 

There is no excuse for North Korea to refuse family reunions for 

the more than 100,000 South Koreans forcibly abducted 61 years 

ago. We owe it to our South Korean friends and the nearly 1.5 milVerDate 0ct 09 2002 10:12 Jan 10, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\AP\113011M\71399 HFA PsN: SHIRL
14

lion Americans of Korean descent to never give up the fight for 

their release. 

Personally, I will never forget the day when former South Korean Ambassador Lee Tae-Sik made a special visit to the 16th Congressional District in Illinois to personally thank American veterans of the Korean War for defending his country and protecting 

his people. As I stood watching the Ambassador deliver his remarks, and the emotional response of our veterans, I could not be 

but overcome with great respect and gratitude for the friendship 

our two nations share. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Manzullo follows:]

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Mr. MANZULLO. I now recognize the ranking member, Mr. 

Faleomavaega. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this 

hearing. I appreciate very much your leadership and your efforts 

in bringing this important resolution before the subcommittee for 

markup. Mr. Chairman, House Resolution 376 was authored, introduced, and sponsored by a true American hero, my good friend, the 

Honorable Charles Rangel from New York. I am very proud to be 

an original co-sponsor of this resolution. 

House Resolution 376 calls for the repatriation of POWs, MIAs, 

and abductees from the Korean War. I know this legislation is near 

and dear to Congressman Rangel’s heart, as was the resolution he 

introduced last year to recognize the 60th anniversary of the Korean War. Last year’s resolution, which was passed by Congress 

and signed by the President, should have borne Charlie Rangel’s 

name in it. To me, it always will be. 

Mr. Chairman, some 30,000 soldiers lost their lives in the Korean 

War from 1950 to 1953. In a Black unit led mostly by White officers, Acting Sergeant Charles Rangel was awarded the Purple 

Heart and Bronze Star for his heroic service in the Korean War, 

having led his comrades from behind enemy lines in circumstances 

few of us have ever known. 

I commend the Honorable Charles Rangel for his valor, for his 

sacrifice and courage. I also want to thank the Korean-American 

community here in the metropolitan DC area, Los Angeles and 

New York, and especially Mr. Dongsuk Kim, the founder and 

former president of the Korean-American Voters’ Council, for their 

grassroots efforts in support of this resolution. 

The resolution is very important to the Korean-American community because some have relatives that are POWs currently in North 

Korea, and some of their relatives are still alive and want to be repatriated. At the very least, these Korean-Americans just want to 

find out the status of their relatives that were taken as POWs during the Korean War. 

Mr. Chairman, I would ask unanimous consent that this article 

in the New York Times dated November 28 of this year, entitled 

‘‘Calling Out Names of 83,000 Lost South Koreans,’’ be made part 

of the record. 

Again, I want to say that on behalf of our Korean-American community, for all those who served and sacrificed so much during the 

Korean War, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. 

I yield back. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Faleomavaega follows:]

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Mr. MANZULLO. Without objection, the article will be admitted. 

Are there any other members who would like to strike the last 

word and speak? Mr. Royce. 

Mr. ROYCE. I would like to. I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for 

scheduling this markup. I really want to thank our colleague Charlie Rangel, who sort of has the quintessentially American sense of 

humor, and documented his role in that conflict in his book, ‘‘And 

I Haven’t Had a Bad Day Since.’’

I think, for those who fought in this war, for that generation of 

Americans and South Koreans who bled in that war, they take 

some umbrage with the idea that some refer to this as a ‘‘forgotten 

war.’’ They haven’t forgotten that war. And I think, by moving this 

legislation forward, we are signalling that this committee hasn’t 

forgotten that war. 

I have chaired the Interparliamentary Exchange with South 

Korea for some years, and I know the impact that that conflict had 

on South Korea. I think, as much as anything, this resolution demonstrates the shared commitment and the sacrifice that serves as 

the foundation of the U.S.-Korea alliance. 

A lot has changed in the last six decades since the war. Certainly 

with the United States’ support, South Korea has transformed into 

a modern leading economy. Yet north of the 38th parallel in North 

Korea—and I have been in North Korea—they still live literally in 

darkness. 

It has been more than 60 years now, and our Department of Defense still lists more than 8,000 American servicemen as POWs or 

missing in action from the Korean War. The number of South Koreans is estimated to be many multiples of that. And of course, as 

mentioned, you had 100,000 South Koreans forcibly conscripted 

into the North Korean army. 

For our veterans, and for their families, it is well past time for 

a full accounting, which this resolution calls for. So I urge its adoption, and I yield back the balance of my time. 

Mr. MANZULLO. Do any other members seek recognition to speak 

on it? Mr. Duncan. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Thank you. I just want to echo Chairman Royce’s 

comments there, that my wife just participated in an honor flight, 

coming up to Washington. And I was sitting here, thinking about 

it being the month when we celebrate and recognize Veterans’ Day, 

and honor the memory of those who have fought and those who are 

currently serving. And I think about the number of Korean War 

veterans that I run across, just in daily contact around the District. 

And I just want to pause and say thank you to those men and 

women who served so valiantly in a war that, a lot of times, is forgotten when we focus on the current War on Terror, and are remembering those of the greatest generation, World War II veterans, that are passing away at a very rapid rate. 

And I just want to pause and say, we do remember the Korean 

War veterans. This is a very timely resolution. And I just want to 

echo Mr. Royce’s comments, as well, and simply say thanks. 

I yield back. 

Mr. MANZULLO. Do any other members seek recognition? 

[No response.] 

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Mr. MANZULLO. Hearing none, and there being no further 

amendments, the question is on agreeing to the bipartisan amendment in the nature of a substitute. 

All those in favor, say aye. 

[Chorus of ayes.] 

Mr. MANZULLO. Those opposed, say no. 

[No response.] 

Mr. MANZULLO. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it and 

the amendment of the nature of a substitute is agreed to. The question now occurs on adopting the resolution as amended. 

All those in favor, say aye. 

[Chorus of ayes.] 

Mr. MANZULLO. Those opposed, say no. 

[No response.] 

Mr. MANZULLO. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and 

the amended resolution is agreed to. Without objection, H. Res. 376 

as amended is reported favorably to the full Committee on Foreign 

Affairs, and staff are directed to make any technical and conforming changes. 

That concludes our business. Without objection, the subcommittee stands adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:44 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 

(21)

A P P E N D I X 

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING RECORD

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