U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) praised efforts this week to reunite hundreds of North Korean families that were broken up during the Korean War, and called on the U.S. and North Korean governments to further these efforts.
“Though hundreds of Korean families were reunited this week in North Korea, the fact remains that more than 66,000 families have been divided for decades," Kirk said. "The State Department should continue to prioritize these reunification efforts and create an official channel to assist in the reunification of Korean Americans, including 60,000 in Illinois, with their relatives in North Korea.”
Kirk has advocated for reunification efforts since 2007, when he was co-chairman of the Congressional Commission on Divided Families. As recently as this June, Kirk co-sponsored a Senate resolution urging the U.S. and North Korean governments to do more to facilitate reunions between Korean Americans and their North Korean families.
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