Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) on Tuesday praised the U.S. government's effort to reunite hundreds of North Korean families that were separated during the Korean War, and called on the governments of both the U.S. and North Korea to continue the work.
“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 was co-chair of the Congressional Commission on Divided Families. As recently as 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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