August 22, 2007
Chosun Daily

U.S. HOR, Moves Forward on “Korean War Abductees Resolution”
Resolution Calls for Information on Whereabouts and Repatriation of 80,000+ Abductees

A resolution calling for confirmation of the whereabouts of more than 80,000 South Koreans who were abducted during the Korean War and the repatriation of the survivors is heading for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The president of KWAFU, Mi-Il Lee, said in an interview with RFA that the resolution has gained the support of congressmen Ed Royce, Frank Wolf and others.

“Congressman Ed Royce has promised that he will get the signatures of other Congressmen once a request for related materials is made to the U.S. government,” Lee said.

“Jay Lefkowitz, the special ambassador for North Korean human rights, has also expressed support for the resolution saying this is the appropriate time to solve the abductee issue.”

President Lee said that the passage of an abductee resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives is meaningful because the U.S., which is one of the signers of the Armistice Agreement, was unable to solve the abductee issue during the Korean War armistice negotiations in 1953.

The Korean War ended with the Armistice Agreement signed on July 27, 1953, but to the family members of wartime abductees the war has still not ended.

After discovering a list of more than 80,000 abductees that even the current government was unaware of, KWAFU has continued to work for the resolution of the abductee issue.

The family union has established offices in New York and Houston to promote more U.S. support in resolving the issue.