I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1369 
To review current restrictions on travel to North Korea, call for a formal 
end to the Korean War, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 3, 2023 
Mr. SHERMAN (for himself, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr. 
CORREA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. TONKO, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. BIGGS, 
Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. BUSH, Ms. JACOBS, Ms. 
SCHAKOWSKY, 
Mr. 
MCGOVERN, 
Ms. 
BLUNT
ROCHESTER, 
Mr. 
ESPAILLAT, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. CHU, Ms. OMAR, and Mr. GREEN of 
Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To review current restrictions on travel to North Korea, 
call for a formal end to the Korean War, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Peace on the Korean 
Peninsula Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) On July 27, 1953, the commander in chief 
of the United Nations Command signed an armistice 
agreement with the supreme commander of the 
North Korean People’s Army and the commander of 
the Chinese People’s Volunteers, aiming to ‘‘insure 
a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of 
armed force in Korea until a final peaceful settle-
ment is achieved’’. 
(2) The armistice agreement neither formally 
ended the war nor represented a final peaceful set-
tlement. 
(3) On April 27, 2018, in Panmunjom, the 
leaders of South Korea and North Korea declared 
that ‘‘a new era of peace has begun on the Korean 
peninsula’’, and committed ‘‘to declare the end of 
war’’ on the Korean peninsula 65 years after the 
signing of the armistice agreement. 
(4) In its roll out of its policy towards North 
Korea, the Biden Administration expressed support 
for the Singapore framework, which identifies peace 
on the Korean peninsula as an objective of any fu-
ture negotiations between the United States and 
North Korea. 
(5) The United States should pursue a sus-
tained and credible diplomatic process to achieve an 
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end to the Korean war, and every effort should be 
made to avoid military confrontation with North 
Korea. 
(6) The persistence of a state of war does not 
serve the national interest of the United States and 
its allies. 
(7) One major consequence of the continuation 
of the Korean war is that the United States does not 
have formal relations with North Korea, which has 
prevented Korean Americans with relatives in North 
Korea from seeing their families. 
(8) Approximately 100,000 Americans have rel-
atives living in North Korea. 
(9) At the Hanoi Summit in February 2019, 
the United States and North Korea discussed for-
mally ending the Korean war and the exchange of 
diplomatic liaison offices, however these discussions 
did not advance due to a stalemate on nuclear and 
missile issues. 
(10) The ongoing nuclear- and ballistic-missile- 
related activities of North Korea continue to pose a 
threat to international peace and security. 
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SEC. 3. HUMANITARIAN CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING VIS-
ITING NORTH KOREA. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the current restrictions barring United States 
nationals traveling to the Democratic People’s Republic of 
Korea (DPRK) warrant review by the Secretary of State. 
(b) REVIEW.—The Secretary of State shall conduct 
a full review of the restrictions in place conditioning the 
travel of United States nationals to the DPRK. Such re-
view shall include consideration of the following: 
(1) The Department of State’s guidance as to 
the nature of travel to the DPRK that qualifies as 
‘‘in the national interest’’ of the United States, in-
cluding whether the scope of travel qualifying as 
such should be adjusted. 
(2) The ‘‘compelling humanitarian consider-
ations’’ that qualify a United States national for 
travel to the DPRK, including whether the scope of 
travel permissible under such considerations should 
be adjusted. 
(3) Whether, and if so, to what extent and 
under what conditions, travel to the DPRK for the 
purposes of attending to or witnessing funerals, bur-
ials, or other religious and family commemorations 
of relatives of United States nationals in the DPRK 
does or should qualify as ‘‘compelling humanitarian 
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considerations’’ meriting issuance of Special Valida-
tion Passports to such nationals. 
(c) REPORT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of State shall submit to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
a report detailing the review conducted under sub-
section (b). Such report shall include a comprehen-
sive description of the Department of State’s consid-
eration of all matters described in paragraphs (1), 
(2), and (3) of such subsection, including, as appli-
cable, any related policy changes and the rationale 
behind the Department’s decision to make or refrain 
from making policy changes relating to such mat-
ters. 
(2) FORM.—The report required under para-
graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but 
may contain a classified annex. 
SEC. 4. CALLING FOR A FORMAL END TO THE KOREAN 
WAR. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that given the commitment of the leaders of South 
Korea and North Korea in Panmunjom on April 27, 2018, 
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to actively promote meetings involving the United States 
‘‘with a view to replacing the Armistice Agreement with 
a peace agreement and establishing a permanent and solid 
peace regime’’, the Secretary of State should pursue seri-
ous, urgent diplomatic engagement with North Korea and 
South Korea in pursuit of a binding peace agreement con-
stituting a formal and final end to the state of war be-
tween North Korea, South Korea, and the United States. 
(b) REPORT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of State shall submit to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
a report that describes a clear roadmap for achieving 
a permanent peace agreement on the Korean penin-
sula. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The report required under 
paragraph (1) shall— 
(A) contain an accounting of the steps nec-
essary to enter into negotiations with North 
Korea and South Korea to conclude a binding 
peace agreement; 
(B) identify the key stakeholders involved 
in such negotiations; and 
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(C) describe the challenges concerning the 
ability of the United States to achieve a binding 
peace agreement constituting a formal and final 
end to the state of war between North Korea, 
South Korea, and the United States. 
(3) FORM.—The report required under para-
graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but 
may contain a classified annex. 
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHING LIAISON OFFICES. 
It is the sense of Congress that given the joint state-
ment signed by the United States and North Korea in 
Singapore on June 12, 2018, which included an agreement 
to ‘‘establish new U.S.-DPRK relations in accordance with 
the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace 
and prosperity’’, the Secretary of State should seek to 
enter into negotiations with the Democratic People’s Re-
public of North Korea (DPRK) to establish liaison offices 
of the DPRK and the United States in the respective cap-
itals of each such country. 
SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act may be construed to affect the 
status of United States Armed Forces stationed in South 
Korea or any other foreign country. 
Æ 
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