Meng Statement on 70th Anniversary of Korean War
June 25, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens), a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations that has oversight of the U.S. State Department, issued the following statement on the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War.
"Seventy years ago, on June 25th, millions of Koreans were plunged into a harrowing three-year war that brought misery, death, and destruction to their lives. Since then, the war has been frozen by an armistice agreement--signed on July 27th, 1953--that persists to today. Caught in this limbo are divided Korean families separated by an arbitrary border. For Korean Americans, this cruel reality means they cannot see or visit their loved ones in North Korea as they are not allowed to participate in inter-Korean family reunions. That is why I introduced the Divided Families Reunification Act, H.R. 1771, which would require the State Department to make this issue a priority with South Korea. My bill has passed the House and I look forward to it being passed in the Senate.
As we look to the future, I urge all parties to remain committed to the noble goal of peace on the Korean Peninsula. In recognition of the 70th anniversary and the critical relationship between the U.S. and South Korea, I am proud to support H.Res.1012 - Recognizing the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean war and the transformation of the United States-Korea alliance into a mutually beneficial, global partnership."