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AMENDMENT NO.llll

Calendar No.lll

Purpose: To require consultations on reuniting Korean Americans with family members in North Korea.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES114th Cong., 2d Sess.

H. R. 757
To improve the enforcement of sanctions against the
Government of North Korea, and for other purposes.
Referred to the Committee on llllllllll and
ordered to be printed
Ordered to lie on the table and to be printed
AMENDMENT intended to be proposed by Mr. KIRK
Viz:
At the end of title III, add the following:

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SEC. 305. CONSULTATIONS ON REUNITING KOREAN AMERI-

CANS WITH FAMILY MEMBERS IN NORTH

KOREA.

(a) FINDINGS.Congress makes the following find-

6 ings:
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(1) The division of the Korean Peninsula into

South Korea and the North Korea separated more

than 10,000,000 Koreans from family members.

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(2) Since the signing of the Agreement Con-

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cerning a Military Armistice in Korea, signed at

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Panmunjom July 27, 1953 (commonly referred to as

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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 19 face-to-face reunions and 7 video link

reunions.

(4) Those reunions have subsequently given ap-

proximately 22,000 Koreans the opportunity to

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briefly reunite with loved ones.

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(5) The most recent family reunions between

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North Korea and South Korea took place in October

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2015 and did not include any Korean Americans.

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(6) The United States and North Korea do not

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maintain diplomatic relations and certain limitations

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exist on Korean Americans participating in inter-Ko-

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rean family reunions.

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(7) More than 1,700,000 people living in the

United States are of Korean descent.

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(8) The number of first generation Korean and

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Korean American family members divided from fam-

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ily members in North Korea is rapidly diminishing

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given the advanced age of those family members.

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(9) Many Korean Americans with family mem-

bers in North Korea have not seen or communicated

with those family members in more than 60 years.

(10) Korean Americans and North Koreans

both continue to suffer from the tragedy of being di-

vided from loved ones.

(11) The inclusion of Korean American families

in the reunion process would constitute a positive

humanitarian gesture by the Government of North

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Korea and contribute to the long-term goal of peace

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on the Korean Peninsula shared by the governments

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of North Korea, South Korea, and the United

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States.

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(12) Section 1265 of the National Defense Au-

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thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law

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110181; 122 Stat. 407) required the President to

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submit to Congress a report on efforts, if any, of

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the United States Government to facilitate family re-

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unions between United States citizens and their rel-

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atives in North Korea.

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(13) In the report of the Committee on Appro-

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priations of the House of Representatives accom-

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panying H.R. 3081, 111th Congress (House Report

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111187), the Committee urged the Special Rep-

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resentative on North Korea Policy, as the senior of-

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ficial handling North Korea issues, to prioritize the

issues involving Korean divided families and to, if

necessary, appoint a coordinator for such families.

(b) CONSULTATIONS REQUIRED.

(1) CONSULTATIONS

WITH SOUTH KOREA.

The Secretary of State, or a designee of the Sec-

retary, shall consult with the appropriate official of

the Government of South Korea with respect to ob-

taining the inclusion of Korean American families in

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efforts to reunite families divided after the signing

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of the Korean War Armistice Agreement.

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(2) CONSULTATIONS

WITH

KOREAN

AMERI-

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CANS.Not

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Special Representative on North Korea Policy of the

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Department of State shall consult with Korean

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Americans with family members in North Korea

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with respect to efforts to reunite families divided

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after the signing of the Korean War Armistice

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Agreement.

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(3) NO

less frequently than every 180 days, the

ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF AP-

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PROPRIATIONS.No

additional amounts are author-

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ized to be appropriated to the Department of State

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to carry out consultations under this subsection.

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(c) REPORT REQUIRED.

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(1) IN

GENERAL.Not

later than one year

after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an-

nually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report

on consultations described in subsection (b) con-

ducted during the year preceding the submission of

the report to

(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations,

the Committee on Appropriations, the Com-

mittee on Homeland Security and Govern-

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mental Affairs, and the Select Committee on

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Intelligence of the Senate; and

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(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the

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Committee on Appropriations, the Committee

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on Homeland Security, and the Permanent Se-

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lect Committee on Intelligence of the House of

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Representatives.

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(2) FORM.The report required by paragraph

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(1) shall be submitted in unclassified form to the

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maximum extent possible, but may include a classi-

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fied annex.