IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 41 

Encouraging peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 25, 2013 

Mr. RANGEL submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee 

on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Encouraging peace and reunification on the Korean 

Peninsula. 

Whereas the Republic of Korea (hereinafter in this resolution 

referred to as ‘‘South Korea’’) and Democratic People’s 

Republic of Korea (hereinafter 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; 


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•HCON 41 IH 

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 intheater along with the South Korean forces and 20 other 

members of the United Nations to secure peace on the 

Korean Peninsula and 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 North Korea’s provocations in the 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 North Korea’s refusal to denuclearize disrupts peace 

and security on the Korean Peninsula; 


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•HCON 41 IH 

Whereas beginning in 2003, the United States along with the 

two Koreas, Japan, People’s Republic of China, and the 

Russian Federation, have engaged in six rounds of SixParty Talks, aimed at finding a peaceful resolution to the 

security concerns resulting from North Korea’s nuclear 

development; 

Whereas North Korea has recently signaled openness to resume the Six-Party Talks, which halted in 2009 due to 

North Korea’s increasing inflammatory rhetoric and belligerent acts, including a satellite launch, sinking of 

South Korean naval ship, and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island; 

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 South Korea and North Korea remain the only divided nation 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 for the Governments of both North and 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 United States and South Korea have continuously stood shoulder-to-shoulder to promote and defend 

international peace and security, economic prosperity, 


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•HCON 41 IH 

human rights, and the rule of law both on the Korean 

Peninsula and beyond; and 

Whereas July 27, 2013, marks the 60th anniversary of the 

Armistice Agreement of the Korean War: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) recognizes the historical importance of the 

4 Korean War, which began on June 25, 1950; 

5 (2) honors the noble service and sacrifice of the 

6 United States Armed Forces and the armed forces 

7 of allied countries that served in Korea since 1950 

8 to the present; 

9 (3) reaffirms the commitment of the United 

10 States to its alliance with South Korea for the bet11 terment of peace and prosperity on the Korean Pe12 ninsula; and 

13 (4) calls on North Korea to abide by inter14 national law and cease its nuclear proliferation in 

15 order to resume talks that could eventually lead to 

16 peace and reunification. 

Æ 


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