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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 20 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 20

      Encouraging peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 25, 2013

 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
      Encouraging peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula.

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;
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.
                                 <all>
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