Manzullo Supports Bill To Free Korean War Captives

WASHINGTON]  – The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia & the Pacific today unanimously approved a resolution calling for the release of American and South Korean prisoners of war (POW) and civilian abductees still in North Korea decades after the Korean War, Chairman Don Manzullo (R-IL) announced.

The resolution, H. Res. 376, recognizes there are American and South Korean POWs and civilian abductees from the Korean War who are still alive in North Korea and want to be repatriated. The U.S. Defense Prisoner of War and Missing Personnel Office classifies more than 8,000 U.S. service members as either prisoners of war or missing in action from the Korean War. In addition, more than 170,000 South Korean civilians and military personnel are also unaccounted for in North Korea.

The legislation:

• calls on North Korea to release the POWs and civilian abductees.
• urges the U.S. government to resume search and recovery operations in North Korea for the remains of American POWs.
• recommends that the United States and South Korea jointly investigate reports of sightings of American POWs/MIAs (missing in action).
• calls on North Korea to admit to the abduction of more than 100,000 South Korean civilians and reveal their status, and agree to family reunions and repatriation of the abductees.

 “House Resolution 376 recognizes the plight of the American and South Korean prisoners of war and civilian abductees still alive in North Korea.  It calls on both the U.S. and South Korean governments to thoroughly investigate any sightings of POWs and civilian abductees. 

The resolution also calls on North Korea to admit the kidnapping of over 100,000 people during the war, and to repatriate remaining POWs and civilian abductees as required by the Geneva Convention,” Manzullo said. “Families still do not have the closure they deserve after so many years, and it is time North Korea told the truth about their whereabouts.”