S. 555 — Korean American Divided Families National Registry Act

This section directs the Secretary of State to (1) identify Korean American families separated from relatives in North Korea after the July 27, 1953, Korean War Armistice who wish to reunite and (2) establish a national registry of such families' names and relevant information to facilitate future in-person and video reunions and serve as a repository, including for deceased individuals; and authorizes $1,000,000 for this purpose.

This section directs the Secretary of State to ensure that any direct U.S.-North Korea dialogue includes progress toward reunions for Korean American families with relatives in North Korea and to consult with the Republic of Korea government as appropriate. The section modifies the annual reporting requirement under section 107(d) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817(d))—currently required through 2022—to require the Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues to include in each report (1) a description of such consultations; (2) the status of the national registry of Korean Americans seeking family reunions; (3) the number of registrants who have and have not met family members in prior reunions; (4) a summary of North Korea's responses to reunion requests; and (5) North Korean actions preventing family member emigration. The section defines "appropriate congressional committees" as the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.