Kaine & Cruz Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Reunite Separated Korean American Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the Korean American Divided Families National Registry Act, bipartisan legislation to help reunite Korean Americans who have been separated from their relatives in North Korea since the Korean War. For Korean Americans who have immigrated to the U.S. since the war, there is no official channel to reunite with family members still in North Korea.

“There are countless heartbreaking stories of Koreans being torn apart from their family members during the Korean War. Today, many of them are proud Virginians who still dream of one day reuniting with their loved ones,” said Kaine. “That’s why I’m introducing this bipartisan legislation to help facilitate the reunification of Korean Americans with their relatives.”

Cruz said, “Reuniting Korean-Americans with their loved ones should be a humanitarian imperative. I am proud to work with Sen. Kaine in introducing and advancing this bill, and to work toward reuniting Americans with family members who have long suffered and are suffering today under the North Korean regime.”

Specifically, the Korean American Divided Families National Registry Act would:

• Create a national registry through the State Department’s Office of the Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues with information regarding divided Korean American families and their relatives in North Korea.
• Allow the U.S. government to access the registry to facilitate in person or virtual opportunities for living and willing family members to meet.
• Encourage dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea.

Virginia is home to the sixth largest Korean American population in the country. Last year in Centreville, Kaine met with Korean Americans who have been separated since the Korean War.

The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ). Companion legislation is being introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. Representatives Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10) and Young Kim (R-CA-40).

Full text of the bill is available here.

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