Rangel Applauds Progress Of Peace In Korean Peninsula

Press Release

Congressman Charles B. Rangel released the following statement after learning that South and North Korea agreed on Saturday to resume high-level talks this year, after DPRK's most senior delegation attended the closing ceremony of the Asian Games in South Korea on Saturday, October 4, 2014.

"As the proud sponsor of a congressional resolution encouraging peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula, I applaud the two Koreas for making great strides toward reconciliation. It is encouraging that they have agreed to resume inter-Korean peace talks, which I hope will lead to more family reunions. Nothing is more tragic than the separation of families and loved ones. I call upon North Korea to also allow some of the 100,000 Korean-Americans to reunite with their divided families who have been torn apart for more than six decades since the division of the Peninsula. Moreover I urge them to release Korean American detainee Kenneth Bae, as it would show further progress on the humanitarian front and help build good will and trust with the international community. As a Korean War veteran, it is my sincere hope to see a united Korea in my lifetime."

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H.CON.RES.41 -Encouraging peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula, passed unanimously in the U.S. House and Senate on August 1, 2013.

Congressman Charles B. Rangel is a decorated Korean War veteran who earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his service in the U.S. Army during the Battle of Kunu-ri, where he led a group of soldiers out of a deadly Chinese Army encirclement after being almost left for dead on November 30, 1950. The title of his autobiography, "And I Haven't Had a Bad Day Since" refers to this day. Congressman Rangel, who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1971, currently represents New York's 13th Congressional District, which include Upper Manhattan and parts of The Bronx. In Congress, he has been a champion advocate for Korean War veterans and U.S.-Korea relations.

Congressman Rangel's Korea-related legislation:

*Sponsored H.CON.RES.41 -Encouraging peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula (Passed unanimously in House and Senate - August 1, 2013)
*Sponsored H.Res. 618 - Expressing support for designation of 2012-2013 as the "Year of the Korean War Veteran" (Passed 2012)
*Sponsored H. Res 376 - Calling for Repatriation of POW/MIAs and Abductees in North Korea (Passed unanimously by Congress in December 2011)
*Sponsored H.J.Res.86 - Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War and Reaffirming U.S.-Korea Alliance (Passed in 2010)
*Sponsored H.R. 2632 - Korean War Veterans Recognition Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-41)
*Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee -- during the ratification of the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (aka KORUS FTA) in 2007, and led its passage.

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