Follow us on social

House passes another win for divided Korean American families

House passes another win for divided Korean American families

But will the Senate take up the mantle and finally bring about reunions between North Koreans and their families in America?

Analysis | Asia-Pacific

Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the Divided Families Reunification Act (H.R. 826), a bipartisan bill that seeks to prioritize reunions of Korean Americans with their loved ones in North Korea. The measure passed under suspension of the rules by 415-0. The same bill passed 391-0 in the 116th Congress.  

The Divided Families Reunification Act advises the Secretary of State to consult with South Korean officials about including Korean American families in reunions with North Koreans, including via video, and tasks the Special Envoy on North Korea Human Rights Issues to consult with divided Korean American families and explore opportunities for reunions. It also requires the Secretary of State to submit a report to Congress outlining these consultations as part of reports required through the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004.

Most Americans do not know that the Korean War never formally ended. For thousands of Korean Americans with family members in North Korea, this status has real-life implications. The absence of a peace treaty has prevented the two countries from forging diplomatic ties and official channels of communication that are vital in international relations. The outcome: seven decades after the Korean War broke out, humanitarian activities such as family reunions remain tragically out of reach for Americans of Korean descent. 

South Koreans with family members in North Korea have had more success in this area, thanks to inter-Korean diplomacy. Twenty-one family reunions have been held between North and South Koreans since the armistice agreement that temporarily stopped the fighting. Time is of the essence. As Rep. Meng explained, “For Korean Americans...there is no pathway for such reunions, as they have not been permitted to participate in these inter-Korean family reunions. Many of these Americans are in their 70s through 90s, and time is of the essence to be reunited with their families.”

It is unclear whether H.R.826 will be enacted into law, despite the common-sense nature of the legislation. Senator Mazie Hirono will likely reintroduce the Senate companion bill, as she had done in the last Congress, though it will need support from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to advance.  

The State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee’s appropriation bill for Fiscal Year 2022, which recently passed out of full committee, contains a provision calling on the Office of North Korean Human Rights to investigate the risks associated with third-party brokers who offer to locate and reunite divided families. The Senate appropriators should support this measure.

Rep. Meng’s bill also serves as a reminder that there is more at stake than simply the nuclear issue when it comes to North Korea. The U.S. government does not seem to be moved by these and other human costs to a policy that prioritizes pressure over political reconciliation with North Korea. As Esther Im and Paul Lee argued in The Diplomat, humanitarian issues such as Korean American divided families and POW/MIA recovery should not only be prioritized in U.S. talks with North Korea, but travel for the purposes of reuniting family members or bringing back remains should be exempt from sanctions and travel restrictions. 

The U.S. government has a responsibility to take care of its own people. It means making sure that its North Korea policy addresses the needs of American citizens for whom the Korean War is a daily reminder of lives torn apart.


US Representative Grace Meng (D-NY) (Photo by Lev Radin/Sipa USA)|Relatives chat at the end of a reunion for separated North and South Korean family members at Mount Kumgang resort, in this undated (and unconfirmed) photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang October 26, 2015. REUTERS/KCNA
Analysis | Asia-Pacific
Trump should take the victory in Canada and move on
Top photo credit: Pierre Poilievre and Mark Carney (Yan Parisien; bella1105 via shutterstock)

Trump should take the victory in Canada and move on

North America

Just days after replacing Justin Trudeau and becoming Canada’s 24th prime minister, Mark Carney has advised Governor General Mary Simon to dissolve Parliament. Canadians will now head to the polls on April 28 for a long awaited and highly anticipated federal election.

Trudeau had announced his intention to resign as prime minister and Liberal Party leader on January 6, having served more than nine years as Canada’s head of government. Opinion polling had shown an increasingly sizable lead for the rival Conservative Party over the preceding 18 months, with about 25 percentage points separating the two parties by the time Trudeau announced he was stepping down.

keep readingShow less
Alexander Vindman's new book is a folly: of history, and the truth
Top photo credit: Alexander Vindman (Philip Yabut/Shutterstock) and the cover of his new book (publisher, PublicAffairs)

Alexander Vindman's new book is a folly: of history, and the truth

Europe

Alexander Vindman’s recent book, “The Folly of Realism,”throws down the gauntlet, as the name suggests, at the “realists” he thinks were responsible for failing to deter Russia and seize opportunities for defense cooperation with Ukraine.

According to Vindman, the former National Security Council official who testified against President Trump during his impeachment trial in 2019, this “realist” behavior incentivized Moscow’s continued imperialist predations, culminating in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

keep readingShow less
arrest free speech
Top photo credit: Spaxiax/Shutterstock

Does Vance’s free speech defense in Munich not apply here?

Global Crises

At the Munich Security Conference in mid-February, U.S. Vice President JD Vance warned Europe not to back away from one of the West’s most basic democratic values: free speech.

“In Washington there is a new sheriff in town," he said, "and under Donald Trump’s leadership, we may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square, agree or disagree.”

keep readingShow less

Trump transition

Latest

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.