“To review current restrictions on travel to North Korea, call for a formal end to the Korean War, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states 10 congressional findings concerning the 1953 Korean War armistice agreement (signed July 27, 1953), including that it did not formally end the war or achieve a peaceful settlement; the April 27, 2018, Panmunjom declaration by South and North Korea to end the war 65 years after the armistice; U.S. support for peace as an objective in negotiations with North Korea; the U.S. national interest in pursuing diplomacy to end the war and avoid military confrontation; the barrier to formal relations preventing approximately 100,000 Korean Americans from visiting relatives in North Korea; and North Korea's ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile threats.
This section expresses the sense of Congress that current restrictions on travel by U.S. nationals to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) warrant review by the Secretary of State and directs the Secretary to conduct such a review. The review must consider (1) State Department guidance on travel qualifying as in the U.S. national interest and whether its scope should be adjusted; (2) compelling humanitarian considerations qualifying U.S. nationals for such travel and whether its scope should be adjusted; and (3) whether, to what extent, and under what conditions travel to the DPRK for funerals, burials, or religious and family commemorations of U.S. nationals' relatives qualifies as a compelling humanitarian consideration meriting Special Validation Passports. Within 180 days of enactment, the Secretary must submit an unclassified report (with a possible classified annex) on the review to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, including descriptions of the considerations and any related policy changes or rationales for decisions.
This section expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should pursue urgent diplomatic engagement with North Korea and South Korea to achieve a binding peace agreement formally ending the state of war, replacing the 1953 Korean War Armistice Agreement. The section also directs the Secretary of State to submit to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, within 180 days of enactment, an unclassified report (with classified annex option) providing a roadmap for a permanent peace agreement on the Korean Peninsula—including steps to initiate negotiations, key stakeholders, and challenges.
This section states the sense of Congress that, in light of the U.S.-North Korea joint statement of June 12, 2018, the Secretary of State should negotiate with North Korea to establish liaison offices of each country in the other's capital.