What This Bill Does
This bill asks the Secretary of State to review restrictions that prevent Americans from traveling to North Korea. It also calls on the U.S. government to work toward a formal peace agreement to officially end the Korean War. The bill also expresses support for the U.S. and North Korea to establish official offices in each other's capitals.
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Who It Affects
- The Secretary of State
- Americans who have relatives in North Korea
- The House Committee on Foreign Affairs
- The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
- United States Armed Forces stationed in South Korea
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Key Provisions
- The Secretary of State must conduct a full review of current travel restrictions on Americans visiting North Korea, including whether rules about "national interest" travel and "compelling humanitarian considerations" (situations where someone has a serious personal or family need) should be changed. The review should consider whether Americans should be allowed to travel to attend funerals, burials, or religious and family events for relatives in North Korea. (Sec. 3)
- The Secretary of State must submit a report within 180 days describing the review and any policy changes being made regarding travel to North Korea. The report can be kept secret if needed, but the main part must be public. (Sec. 3)
- The Secretary of State should pursue serious diplomatic talks with North Korea and South Korea to create a binding peace agreement that formally and finally ends the state of war between these countries and the United States. (Sec. 4)
- The Secretary of State must submit a report within 180 days describing a roadmap to achieve a permanent peace agreement on the Korean peninsula. This report must list the necessary steps, identify key people involved in negotiations, and describe the challenges involved. The report can be kept secret if needed, but the main part must be public. (Sec. 4)
- The Secretary of State should try to negotiate the establishment of official offices (called liaison offices) for the U.S. and North Korea in each country's capital city. (Sec. 5)
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, the Secretary of State will be required to review and report on North Korea travel restrictions and create a plan for achieving a peace agreement to officially end the Korean War. The bill does not automatically change any existing policies or laws on its own, but directs the Secretary of State to examine current restrictions and consider making changes.
The bill explicitly states it does not affect the status of U.S. military forces currently stationed in South Korea or any other country.
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Important Definitions
- **Armistice agreement**: An agreement signed in 1953 that stopped fighting in Korea but did not formally end the war
- **Liaison offices**: Official representative offices established by one country in another country's capital
- **Special Validation Passports**: Travel documents that allow Americans to visit places the U.S. government has restricted travel to
- **Compelling humanitarian considerations**: Serious personal or family circumstances that meet a high standard for needing to travel somewhere
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1369
To review current restrictions on travel to North Korea, call for a formal
end to the Korean War, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 3, 2023
Mr. SHERMAN (for himself, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr.
CORREA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. TONKO, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. BIGGS,
Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. BUSH, Ms. JACOBS, Ms.
SCHAKOWSKY,
Mr.
MCGOVERN,
Ms.
BLUNT
ROCHESTER,
Mr.
ESPAILLAT, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. CHU, Ms. OMAR, and Mr. GREEN of
Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Affairs
A BILL
To review current restrictions on travel to North Korea,
call for a formal end to the Korean War, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Peace on the Korean
4
Peninsula Act’’.
5
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
6
Congress makes the following findings:
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•HR 1369 IH
(1) On July 27, 1953, the commander in chief
1
of the United Nations Command signed an armistice
2
agreement with the supreme commander of the
3
North Korean People’s Army and the commander of
4
the Chinese People’s Volunteers, aiming to ‘‘insure
5
a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of
6
armed force in Korea until a final peaceful settle-
7
ment is achieved’’.
8
(2) The armistice agreement neither formally
9
ended the war nor represented a final peaceful set-
10
tlement.
11
(3) On April 27, 2018, in Panmunjom, the
12
leaders of South Korea and North Korea declared
13
that ‘‘a new era of peace has begun on the Korean
14
peninsula’’, and committed ‘‘to declare the end of
15
war’’ on the Korean peninsula 65 years after the
16
signing of the armistice agreement.
17
(4) In its roll out of its policy towards North
18
Korea, the Biden Administration expressed support
19
for the Singapore framework, which identifies peace
20
on the Korean peninsula as an objective of any fu-
21
ture negotiations between the United States and
22
North Korea.
23
(5) The United States should pursue a sus-
24
tained and credible diplomatic process to achieve an
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•HR 1369 IH
end to the Korean war, and every effort should be
1
made to avoid military confrontation with North
2
Korea.
3
(6) The persistence of a state of war does not
4
serve the national interest of the United States and
5
its allies.
6
(7) One major consequence of the continuation
7
of the Korean war is that the United States does not
8
have formal relations with North Korea, which has
9
prevented Korean Americans with relatives in North
10
Korea from seeing their families.
11
(8) Approximately 100,000 Americans have rel-
12
atives living in North Korea.
13
(9) At the Hanoi Summit in February 2019,
14
the United States and North Korea discussed for-
15
mally ending the Korean war and the exchange of
16
diplomatic liaison offices, however these discussions
17
did not advance due to a stalemate on nuclear and
18
missile issues.
19
(10) The ongoing nuclear- and ballistic-missile-
20
related activities of North Korea continue to pose a
21
threat to international peace and security.
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•HR 1369 IH
SEC. 3. HUMANITARIAN CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING VIS-
1
ITING NORTH KOREA.
2
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
3
gress that the current restrictions barring United States
4
nationals traveling to the Democratic People’s Republic of
5
Korea (DPRK) warrant review by the Secretary of State.
6
(b) REVIEW.—The Secretary of State shall conduct
7
a full review of the restrictions in place conditioning the
8
travel of United States nationals to the DPRK. Such re-
9
view shall include consideration of the following:
10
(1) The Department of State’s guidance as to
11
the nature of travel to the DPRK that qualifies as
12
‘‘in the national interest’’ of the United States, in-
13
cluding whether the scope of travel qualifying as
14
such should be adjusted.
15
(2) The ‘‘compelling humanitarian consider-
16
ations’’ that qualify a United States national for
17
travel to the DPRK, including whether the scope of
18
travel permissible under such considerations should
19
be adjusted.
20
(3) Whether, and if so, to what extent and
21
under what conditions, travel to the DPRK for the
22
purposes of attending to or witnessing funerals, bur-
23
ials, or other religious and family commemorations
24
of relatives of United States nationals in the DPRK
25
does or should qualify as ‘‘compelling humanitarian
26
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•HR 1369 IH
considerations’’ meriting issuance of Special Valida-
1
tion Passports to such nationals.
2
(c) REPORT.—
3
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days
4
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
5
retary of State shall submit to the Committee on
6
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and
7
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate
8
a report detailing the review conducted under sub-
9
section (b). Such report shall include a comprehen-
10
sive description of the Department of State’s consid-
11
eration of all matters described in paragraphs (1),
12
(2), and (3) of such subsection, including, as appli-
13
cable, any related policy changes and the rationale
14
behind the Department’s decision to make or refrain
15
from making policy changes relating to such mat-
16
ters.
17
(2) FORM.—The report required under para-
18
graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but
19
may contain a classified annex.
20
SEC. 4. CALLING FOR A FORMAL END TO THE KOREAN
21
WAR.
22
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
23
gress that given the commitment of the leaders of South
24
Korea and North Korea in Panmunjom on April 27, 2018,
25
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•HR 1369 IH
to actively promote meetings involving the United States
1
‘‘with a view to replacing the Armistice Agreement with
2
a peace agreement and establishing a permanent and solid
3
peace regime’’, the Secretary of State should pursue seri-
4
ous, urgent diplomatic engagement with North Korea and
5
South Korea in pursuit of a binding peace agreement con-
6
stituting a formal and final end to the state of war be-
7
tween North Korea, South Korea, and the United States.
8
(b) REPORT.—
9
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days
10
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
11
retary of State shall submit to the Committee on
12
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and
13
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate
14
a report that describes a clear roadmap for achieving
15
a permanent peace agreement on the Korean penin-
16
sula.
17
(2) CONTENTS.—The report required under
18
paragraph (1) shall—
19
(A) contain an accounting of the steps nec-
20
essary to enter into negotiations with North
21
Korea and South Korea to conclude a binding
22
peace agreement;
23
(B) identify the key stakeholders involved
24
in such negotiations; and
25
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•HR 1369 IH
(C) describe the challenges concerning the
1
ability of the United States to achieve a binding
2
peace agreement constituting a formal and final
3
end to the state of war between North Korea,
4
South Korea, and the United States.
5
(3) FORM.—The report required under para-
6
graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but
7
may contain a classified annex.
8
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHING LIAISON OFFICES.
9
It is the sense of Congress that given the joint state-
10
ment signed by the United States and North Korea in
11
Singapore on June 12, 2018, which included an agreement
12
to ‘‘establish new U.S.-DPRK relations in accordance with
13
the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace
14
and prosperity’’, the Secretary of State should seek to
15
enter into negotiations with the Democratic People’s Re-
16
public of North Korea (DPRK) to establish liaison offices
17
of the DPRK and the United States in the respective cap-
18
itals of each such country.
19
SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
20
Nothing in this Act may be construed to affect the
21
status of United States Armed Forces stationed in South
22
Korea or any other foreign country.
23
Æ
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