In U.S., resolution on POWs advances

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In U.S., resolution on POWs advances

WASHINGTON - A U.S. House panel on Wednesday passed a resolution on Korean War prisoners held in North Korea and civilian abductees taken during the 1950-53 conflict.

The House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific unanimously approved the resolution, which calls on North Korea to admit to the kidnapping of more than 100,000 people during the war and to repatriate remaining prisoners of war (POWs) and abductees.

“For so many families in the U.S. and Korea, the war has never ended,” Representative Donald Manzullo, chairman of the subcommittee, said at the start of a markup of the resolution. “It is time North Korea told the truth about their whereabouts.”

The session ended in 15 minutes with the adoption of the resolution by voice vote. It requires approval by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the full House of Representatives.

“There is no excuse for North Korea to refuse family reunions for the more than 100,000 South Koreans forcefully abducted 61 years ago,” the Republican from Illinois said.

Hundreds of South Korean soldiers were also captured during the war, and around 350 of them still reside in the North, according to formal data.

Roughly 1.8 million U.S. troops fought in the war alongside South Korean and United Nations forces, and more than 128,600 of them were killed or wounded. More than 8,000 U.S. servicemen are listed as unaccounted for, the Department of Defense said.

Representative Ed Royce, Republican of California, said the panel’s move sends a signal that it has not forgotten the Korean War, which is often called the “Forgotten War.” Yonhap
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