Korean War Divided Families Reunification Act
Bill: S.2688 | Sponsor: Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. (D-HI)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Korean War Divided Families Reunification Act
This bill directs the Department of State to periodically report to Congress on its consultations with South Korea on potential opportunities to reunite Korean Americans with family in North Korea. The State Department's Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues shall periodically report to Congress on its consultations with representatives of Korean Americans with family in North Korea on reunification efforts.

To require consultations on reuniting Korean Americans with family 
                        members in North Korea.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Korean War Divided Families 
Reunification Act''.

SEC. 2. CONSULTATIONS ON REUNITING KOREAN AMERICANS WITH FAMILY MEMBERS 
              IN NORTH KOREA.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The division of the Korean Peninsula into South Korea 
        and North Korea separated thousands of Koreans from family 
        members.
            (2) Since the signing of the Agreement Concerning a 
        Military Armistice in Korea, signed at Panmunjom July 27, 1953 
        (commonly referred to as the ``Korean War Armistice 
        Agreement''), there has been little to no contact between 
        Korean Americans and family members who remain in North Korea.
            (3) North Korea and South Korea first agreed to reunions of 
        divided families in 1985 and have since held 21 face-to-face 
        reunions and multiple video link reunions.
            (4) Those reunions have subsequently given approximately 
        24,500 Koreans the opportunity to briefly reunite with loved 
        ones.
            (5) The most recent family reunions between North Korea and 
        South Korea took place in August 2018 and did not include any 
        Korean Americans.
            (6) The United States and North Korea do not maintain 
        diplomatic relations and certain limitations exist on Korean 
        Americans participating in face-to-face reunions.
            (7) According to the most recent census, more than 
        1,700,000 people living in the United States are of Korean 
        descent.
            (8) The number of first generation Korean and Korean 
        American family members divided from family members in North 
        Korea is rapidly diminishing given the advanced age of those 
        family members. More than 3,000 elderly South Koreans die each 
        year without having been reunited with their family members.
            (9) Many Korean Americans with family members in North 
        Korea have not seen or communicated with those family members 
        in more than 60 years.
            (10) The inclusion of Korean American families in the 
        reunion process, with the support of international 
        organizations with expertise in family tracing, would 
        constitute a positive humanitarian gesture by the Government of 
        North Korea.
            (11) Section 1265 of the National Defense Authorization Act 
        for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110-181; 122 Stat. 407) 
        required the President to submit to Congress a report on 
        ``efforts, if any, of the United States Government to 
        facilitate family reunions between United States citizens and 
        their relatives in North Korea''.
            (12) The position of Special Envoy on North Korean Human 
        Rights Issues has been vacant since January 2017, although the 
        President is required to appoint a Senate-confirmed Special 
        Envoy to fill this position in accordance with section 107 of 
        the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817).
            (13) In the report of the Committee on Appropriations of 
        the House of Representatives accompanying H.R. 3081, 111th 
        Congress (House Report 111-187), the Committee 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 to, if necessary, appoint 
        a coordinator for such families''.
            (14) In the report of the Committee on Appropriations of 
        the House of Representatives accompanying H.R. 133, 116th 
        Congress (House Report 116-444), the Committee urged ``the 
        Office of North Korean Human Rights, in consultation with 
        Korean American community organizations, to identify Korean 
        Americans who wish to be reunited with their family in North 
        Korea in anticipation of future reunions''.
    (b) Consultations.--
            (1) Consultations with south korea.--The Secretary of 
        State, or a designee of the Secretary, should consult with 
        officials of South Korea, as appropriate, on potential 
        opportunities to reunite Korean American families with family 
        members in North Korea from which such Korean American families 
        were divided after the signing of the Korean War Armistice 
        Agreement, including potential opportunities for video reunions 
        for Korean Americans with such family members.
            (2) Consultations with korean americans.--The Special Envoy 
        on North Korean Human Rights Issues of the Department of State 
        should regularly consult with representatives of Korean 
        Americans who have family members in North Korea with respect 
        to efforts to reunite families divided after the signing of the 
        Korean War Armistice Agreement, including potential 
        opportunities for video reunions for Korean Americans with such 
        family members.
            (3) No additional authorization of appropriations.--No 
        additional amounts are authorized to be appropriated to the 
        Department of State to carry out consultations under this 
        subsection.
    (c) Additional Matter in Report.--The Secretary of State, acting 
through the Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues, shall 
include in each report required under section 107(d) of the North 
Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817(d)), a description of 
the consultations described in subsection (b) conducted during the year 
preceding the submission of each report required under such section 
107(d).
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