The US Senate has approved a resolution urging North Korea to allow Korean-Americans to hold reunions with their long-separated family members in the communist nation, finalizing its passage through both chambers of Congress.

The resolution (H.Con.Res.40), introduced last year by Reps. Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Ed Royce (R-CA), passed through the Senate on Saturday. The House of Representatives approved the bipartisan resolution earlier this month.

The resolution calls for Pyongyang to allow Korean-Americans to meet with their family members separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

It also calls on the North to take concrete steps to build goodwill conducive to peace on the Korean Peninsula.

It was the last measure that Rangel passed through both the House and the Senate before he retires from Congress next month after 46 years of service. The 86-year-old Korean War veteran was first elected to Congress in 1970.

"As a Korean War veteran I couldn't be more proud that my last bill to pass in Congress will give some hope to those families who have been separated by their loved ones since I fought in the Kunuri battle almost 70 years ago," Rangel said in a statement.

"I may be retiring from Congress, but I will never stop being a friend to Koreans and an advocate for peace on the peninsula. It is my sincere hope that the family reunions could start soon and that I will see a reunified Korea in my lifetime," he said.

Royce also welcomed the resolution's passage through the Senate.

"The US Congress has now spoken with one, unified voice. The North Korean regime should allow millions of families torn apart during the Korean War to be reunited," Royce said.

"A large number of these families' members are elderly, so time is of the essence. These families deserve one last opportunity to be with loved ones they've not seen in 60 years." (Yonhap)