H.R. 1273 — Korean American Divided Families National Registry Act

This section establishes the short title of the Act as the “Korean American Divided Families National Registry Act.”

This section directs the Secretary of State, acting through the Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues or another designee, to collect information on Korean American families separated from relatives in North Korea after the July 27, 1953, Korean War Armistice Agreement and to establish a private internal national registry of those families’ names and other relevant information. It authorizes the registry to support future family reunions in South Korea, the United States, or third countries, including in-person and video reunions, and to serve as a private repository of information about separated family members in North Korea, including deceased individuals.

This section directs the Secretary of State to take actions necessary to ensure that any direct dialogue between the United States and North Korea includes progress toward future reunions for Korean American families and their family members in North Korea, and requires consultation with the Government of the Republic of Korea in carrying out that directive. It also requires the Secretary to submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate no later than 1 year after enactment and annually for 5 years thereafter on the status of the national registry established under section 2(a)(2), the number of registrants who have previously met family members in North Korea and who have not yet done so, North Korea’s responses to requests to hold reunions of divided families, and North Korean regulations and actions during the preceding year that prevent the emigration of family members of Korean American families.