III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 190 

Encouraging reunions of Korean Americans who were divided by the Korean 

War from relatives in North Korea. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 3, 2015 

Mr. KIRK (for himself and Mr. WARNER) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Encouraging reunions of Korean Americans who were divided 

by the Korean War from relatives in North Korea. 

Whereas the division of the Korean Peninsula into the Republic of Korea (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘South 

Korea’’) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 

(referred to in this preamble as ‘‘North Korea’’) separated more than 10,000,000 Koreans from family members; 

Whereas since the signing of the Korean War armistice 

agreement on July 27, 1953, there has been little to no 

contact between Korean Americans and family members 

who remain in North Korea; 

Whereas North and South Korea first agreed to divided family reunions in 1985 and have since held 19 face-to-face 

reunions and 7 video link reunions; 


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•SRES 190 IS 

Whereas those reunions have subsequently given approximately 22,000 Koreans the opportunity to briefly reunite 

with loved ones; 

Whereas the most recent family reunions between North 

Korea and South Korea took place in February 2014 

after a suspension of more than 3 years; 

Whereas the United States and North Korea do not maintain 

diplomatic relations and certain limitations exist for Korean Americans to participate in inter-Korean family reunions; 

Whereas more than 1,700,000 people of the United States 

are of Korean descent; 

Whereas the number of first generation Korean and Korean 

American divided family members is rapidly diminishing 

given advanced age; 

Whereas many Korean Americans with family members in 

North Korea have not seen or communicated with their 

relatives in more than 60 years; 

Whereas Korean Americans and North Koreans both continue to suffer from the tragedy of being divided from 

loved ones; 

Whereas the inclusion of Korean American families in the reunion process would constitute a positive humanitarian 

gesture by North Korea and contribute to the long-term 

goal of peace on the Korean Peninsula shared by the governments of North Korea, South Korea, and the United 

States; 

Whereas the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

Year 2008 (Public Law 110–181; 122 Stat. 3) requires 

the President, every 180 days, to submit to Congress a 

report on ‘‘efforts, if any, of the United States GovernVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Jun 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR190.IS SR190

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•SRES 190 IS 

ment to facilitate family reunions between United States 

citizens and their relatives in North Korea’’; and 

Whereas in the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 (Public 

Law 111–242; 124 Stat. 2607), Congress urged ‘‘the 

Special Representative on North Korea Policy, as the 

senior official handling North Korea issues, to prioritize 

the issues involving Korean divided families and, if necessary, to appoint a coordinator for such families’’: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the significance of the past will3 ingness of North Korea to resume reunions of di4 vided family members between North Korea and 

5 South Korea; 

6 (2) encourages North Korea to permit reunions 

7 between Korean Americans and their relatives still 

8 living in North Korea; 

9 (3) calls on the Secretary of State to further 

10 prioritize efforts to reunite Korean Americans with 

11 their divided family members; 

12 (4) acknowledges the efforts of the American 

13 Red Cross to open channels of communication be14 tween Korean Americans and their family members 

15 who remain in North Korea; 

16 (5) encourages the Government of South Korea 

17 to include United States citizens in future family re18 unions planned with North Korea; and 


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•SRES 190 IS 

1 (6) praises humanitarian efforts to reunite all 

2 individuals of Korean descent with their relatives 

3 and engender a lasting peace on the Korean Penin4 sula. 

Æ 


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