Title: Calling for a formal end of the Korean war.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution pays tribute to the veterans and victims of the Korean War and the families divided by the war. It states that the House of Representatives would welcome a statement by the President declaring the end of the state of war with North Korea, and affirms that such a declaration would not affect U.S. commitments under the mutual defense treaty between the United States and South Korea.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 152 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 152

              Calling for a formal end of the Korean war.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 26, 2019

Mr. Khanna (for himself, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Lee of California, 
 Ms. Haaland, Ms. Omar, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Norton, Ms. Schakowsky, 
    Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Rush, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Ms. Gabbard, Mr. 
Espaillat, Mr. Kim, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Judy Chu of California, Mr. Serrano, 
Ms. Moore, and Ms. Velazquez) submitted the following resolution; which 
 was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to 
  the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
              Calling for a formal end of the Korean war.

Whereas the Korean war remains one of the world's longest ongoing armed 
        conflicts, in which the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North 
        Korea), the Republic of Korea (South Korea), the United States, and 20 
        other nations have suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties and 
        losses, and millions of civilians killed and wounded;
Whereas, on June 25, 1950, the armed forces of North Korea attacked South Korea, 
        an action which the United Nations Security Council determined 
        constituted a breach of the peace under chapter VII of the United 
        Nations Charter, after which the United States militarily intervened in 
        the conflict in defense of South Korea;
Whereas, 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, by its terms, to ``insure a complete cessation of 
        hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea until a final 
        peaceful settlement is achieved'';
Whereas the Armistice Agreement, by its terms, neither formally ended the war 
        nor represented a final peaceful settlement;
Whereas the persistence of a state of war represents a constant risk and threat 
        to the national security of the United States and its allies;
Whereas in Article III of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States of 
        America and the Republic of Korea, signed at Washington on October 1, 
        1953, and still in force today, the United States recognized that an 
        armed attack on South Korea would be dangerous to the peace and safety 
        of the United States, and declared that the United States would act in 
        accordance with its constitutional principles to meet the common danger 
        of such an armed attack;
Whereas unprovoked military action against North Korea would pose extraordinary 
        risks to the United States, United States troops and citizens in the 
        region, United States allies, and security in Northeast Asia and would 
        require explicit authorization by Congress under article I of the United 
        States Constitution;
Whereas, on April 27, 2018, in Panmunjom, the leaders of South Korea and North 
        Korea ``solemnly declared'' that ``there will be no more war and 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, and further committing 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'';
Whereas, on June 12, 2018, in Singapore, the leaders of the United States and 
        North Korea committed ``to establish new relations in accordance with 
        the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and 
        prosperity'';
Whereas, on September 25, 2018, President of South Korea Moon Jae-in publicly 
        affirmed that it is ``simply not true'' that an end-of-war declaration 
        would affect the status of the United Nations Command or of United 
        States Forces in Korea, and further stated that the stationing of United 
        States Forces in Korea ``is simply a matter for the ROK-U.S. alliance to 
        decide regardless of a declaration to end the Korean war or the signing 
        of a peace treaty'';
Whereas the failure to come to a final peace settlement on the Korean peninsula 
        has exerted long-term negative pressures on human rights and 
        humanitarian conditions, such as the restriction of civil liberties and 
        redirection of national resources to defense and excessive military 
        spending rather than to the livelihoods of Americans and the Korean 
        peoples;
Whereas the United Nations Security Council has determined that the ongoing 
        nuclear- and ballistic-missile-related activities of North Korea 
        continue to pose a threat to international peace and security;
Whereas the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) remains a 
        cornerstone of the nuclear nonproliferation regime and the United States 
        has a duty to seek universal adherence to and compliance with the NPT;
Whereas an end to the state of war would not legally imply recognition of North 
        Korea as a nuclear weapons state, as the only states that can be 
        recognized as such under the NPT are those which have ``manufactured and 
        exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to 
        January 1, 1967''; and
Whereas Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun stated on January 
        31, 2019, that ``the Trump administration is ready to end this war'', 
        that ``We are not going to invade North Korea'', and that ``We are not 
        seeking to topple the North Korean regime'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) pays tribute to the sacrifices of the veterans of the 
        Korean war, its victims, and the families divided since the 
        initial outbreak of war;
            (2) calls for continued cooperative efforts to repatriate 
        the remains of service members;
            (3) calls for reunions of divided Korean and Korean-
        American families, people-to-people exchanges, and continued 
        humanitarian cooperation;
            (4) affirms that neither a declaration regarding the end of 
        the Korean war nor a final peaceful settlement by itself would 
        have any legal effect on the commitments set forth in the 1953 
        Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States of America and 
        the Republic of Korea, which by its terms is set to ``remain in 
        force indefinitely'' and which requires the United States to 
        respond immediately and firmly to the common danger that any 
        armed attack on South Korea would pose to both countries;
            (5) affirms its strong agreement with the statement of the 
        President of South Korea Moon Jae-in that questions about the 
        stationing of United States Armed Forces in South Korea is 
        ultimately a matter for the United States and South Korea to 
        decide together regardless of whether a declaration to end the 
        Korean war or any final peaceful settlement is achieved;
            (6) affirms that the United States does not seek armed 
        conflict with North Korea;
            (7) would welcome a statement by President Trump, in 
        coordination with South Korea, declaring the end of the state 
        of war with North Korea;
            (8) supports ongoing diplomatic engagement among the United 
        States, South Korea, and North Korea to address the ongoing 
        nuclear- and ballistic-missile-related activities of North 
        Korea;
            (9) calls for the conclusion of a binding peace agreement 
        constituting a formal and final end to the state of war between 
        North Korea, South Korea, and the United States, and calls for 
        serious, urgent diplomatic engagement in pursuit of that goal;
            (10) affirms the vital role that women and other 
        marginalized groups who would be particularly vulnerable to any 
        resumption of active hostilities must play in building a 
        lasting, sustainable, and peaceful settlement, and calls on all 
        parties to take greater steps to include women and civil 
        society in ongoing discussions, as outlined in the Women, 
        Peace, and Security Act of 2017;
            (11) affirms that the denuclearization of the Korean 
        peninsula and a final peaceful settlement cannot be achieved 
        absent meaningful, reciprocal actions and confidence-building 
        measures among all parties; and
            (12) calls upon the President and Secretary of State, or 
        their designees, to detail for Congress and the American people 
        a clear roadmap for achieving a permanent peace regime and the 
        peaceful denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
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