II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 584 

To reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 1, 2023 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself and Mr. KAINE) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act of 

2004, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘North Korean Human 

5 Rights Reauthorization Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The North Korean Human Rights Act of 

9 2004 (Public Law 108–333; 22 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.) 

10 and subsequent reauthorizations of such Act were 
2 

•S 584 IS

1 the product of broad, bipartisan consensus regarding 

2 the promotion of human rights, documentation of 

3 human rights violations, transparency in the delivery 

4 of humanitarian assistance, and the importance of 

5 refugee protection. 

6 (2) The human rights and humanitarian condi7 tions within North Korea remain deplorable and 

8 have been intentionally perpetuated against the peo9 ple of North Korea through policies endorsed and 

10 implemented by Kim Jong-un and the Workers’ 

11 Party of Korea. 

12 (3) According to a 2014 report released by the 

13 United Nations Human Rights Council’s Commis14 sion of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic 

15 People’s Republic of Korea, between 80,000 and 

16 120,000 children, women, and men were being held 

17 in political prison camps in North Korea, where they 

18 were subjected to deliberate starvation, forced labor, 

19 executions, torture, rape, forced abortion, and infan20 ticide. 

21 (4) North Korea continues to hold a number of 

22 South Koreans and Japanese abducted after the 

23 signing of the Agreement Concerning a Military Ar24 mistice in Korea, signed at Panmunjom July 27, 

25 1953 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Korean War 
3 

•S 584 IS

1 Armistice Agreement’’), and refuses to acknowledge 

2 the abduction of more than 100,000 South Koreans 

3 during the Korean War in violation of the Geneva 

4 Convention. 

5 (5) Human rights violations in North Korea, 

6 which include forced starvation, sexual violence 

7 against women and children, restrictions on freedom 

8 of movement, arbitrary detention, torture, execu9 tions, and enforced disappearances, amount to 

10 crimes against humanity according to the United 

11 Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in 

12 the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. 

13 (6) The effects of the COVID–19 pandemic and 

14 North Korea’s strict lockdown of its borders and 

15 crackdowns on informal market activities and small 

16 entrepreneurship have drastically increased food in17 security for its people and given rise to famine con18 ditions in parts of the country. 

19 (7) North Korea’s COVID–19 border lockdown 

20 measures also include shoot-to-kill orders that have 

21 resulted in the killing of— 

22 (A) North Koreans attempting to cross the 

23 border; and 

24 (B) at least 1 South Korean citizen in Sep25 tember 2020. 
4 

•S 584 IS

1 (8) The Chinese Communist Party and the 

2 Government of the People’s Republic of China are 

3 aiding and abetting in crimes against humanity by 

4 forcibly repatriating North Korean refugees to 

5 North Korea where they are sent to prison camps, 

6 harshly interrogated, and tortured or executed. 

7 (9) The forcible repatriation of North Korean 

8 refugees violates the People’s Republic of China’s 

9 freely undertaken obligation to uphold the principle 

10 of non-refoulement, under the Convention Relating 

11 to the Status of Refugees, done at Geneva July 28, 

12 1951 (and made applicable by the Protocol Relating 

13 to the Status of Refugees, done at New York Janu14 ary 31, 1967 (19 UST 6223)). 

15 (10) North Korea continues to bar freedom of 

16 religion and persecute religious minorities, especially 

17 Christians. Eyewitnesses report that Christians in 

18 North Korea have been tortured, forcibly detained, 

19 and even executed for possessing a Bible or pro20 fessing Christianity. 

21 (11) United States and international broad22 casting operations into North Korea— 

23 (A) serve as a critical source of outside 

24 news and information for the North Korean 

25 people; and 
5 

•S 584 IS

1 (B) provide a valuable service for coun2 tering regime propaganda and false narratives. 

3 (12) The position of Special Envoy on North 

4 Korean Human Rights Issues has been vacant since 

5 January 2017, even though the President is required 

6 to appoint a Senate-confirmed Special Envoy to fill 

7 this position in accordance with section 107 of the 

8 North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 

9 U.S.C. 7817). 

10 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

11 It is the sense of Congress that— 

12 (1) promoting information access in North 

13 Korea continues to be a successful method of coun14 tering North Korean propaganda; 

15 (2) the United States Government should con16 tinue to support efforts described in paragraph (1), 

17 including by enacting and implementing the Otto 

18 Warmbier North Korean Censorship and Surveil19 lance Act of 2021, which was introduced by Senator 

20 Portman on June 17, 2021; 

21 (3) because refugees among North Koreans 

22 fleeing into China face severe punishments upon 

23 their forcible return, the United States should urge 

24 the Government of the People’s Republic of China— 
6 

•S 584 IS

1 (A) to immediately halt its forcible repatri2 ation of North Koreans; 

3 (B) to allow the United Nations High 

4 Commissioner for Refugees (referred to in this 

5 section as ‘‘UNHCR’’) unimpeded access to 

6 North Koreans within China to determine 

7 whether they are refugees and require assist8 ance; 

9 (C) to fulfill its obligations under the Con10 vention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 

11 done at Geneva July 28, 1951 (and made appli12 cable by the Protocol Relating to the Status of 

13 Refugees, done at New York January 31, 1967 

14 (19 UST 6223)) and the Agreement on the up15 grading of the UNHCR Mission in the People’s 

16 Republic of China to UNHCR branch office in 

17 the People’s Republic of China, done at Geneva 

18 December 1, 1995; 

19 (D) to address the concerns of the United 

20 Nations Committee Against Torture by incor21 porating into domestic legislation the principle 

22 of non-refoulement; and 

23 (E) to recognize the legal status of North 

24 Korean women who marry or have children with 

25 Chinese citizens and ensure that all such moth-
7 

•S 584 IS

1 ers and children are granted resident status 

2 and access to education and other public serv3 ices in accordance with Chinese law and inter4 national standards; 

5 (4) the United States Government should con6 tinue to promote the effective and transparent deliv7 ery and distribution of any humanitarian aid pro8 vided in North Korea to ensure that such aid 

9 reaches its intended recipients to the point of con10 sumption or utilization by cooperating closely with 

11 the Government of the Republic of Korea and inter12 national and nongovernmental organizations; 

13 (5) the Department of State should continue to 

14 take steps to increase public awareness about the 

15 risks and dangers of travel by United States citizens 

16 to North Korea, including by continuing its policy of 

17 blocking United States passports from being used to 

18 travel to North Korea without a special validation 

19 from the Department of State; 

20 (6) the United Nations, which has a significant 

21 role to play in promoting and improving human 

22 rights in North Korea, should press for access for 

23 the United Nations Special Rapporteur and the 

24 United Nations High Commissioner for Human 
8 

•S 584 IS

1 Rights on the situation of human rights in North 

2 Korea; 

3 (7) the Special Envoy for North Korean 

4 Human Rights Issues should be appointed without 

5 delay— 

6 (A) to properly promote and coordinate 

7 North Korean human rights and humanitarian 

8 issues; and 

9 (B) to participate in policy planning and 

10 implementation with respect to refugee issues; 

11 (8) the United States should urge North Korea 

12 to repeal the Reactionary Thought and Culture De13 nunciation Law and other draconian laws, regula14 tions, and decrees that manifestly violate the free15 dom of opinion and expression and the freedom of 

16 thought, conscience, and religion; 

17 (9) the United States should urge North Korea 

18 to ensure that any restrictions on addressing the 

19 COVID–19 pandemic are necessary, proportionate, 

20 nondiscriminatory, time-bound, transparent, and 

21 allow international staff to operate inside the North 

22 Korea to provide international assistance based on 

23 independent needs assessments; 

24 (10) the United States should expand the Re25 wards for Justice program to be open to North Ko-
9 

•S 584 IS

1 rean officials who can provide evidence of crimes 

2 against humanity being committed by North Korean 

3 officials; 

4 (11) the United States should continue to seek 

5 cooperation from all foreign governments— 

6 (A) to allow the UNHCR access to process 

7 North Korean refugees overseas for resettle8 ment; and 

9 (B) to allow United States officials access 

10 to process refugees for possible resettlement in 

11 the United States; and 

12 (12) the Secretary of State, through diplomacy 

13 by senior officials, including United States ambas14 sadors to Asia-Pacific countries, and in close co15 operation with South Korea, should make every ef16 fort to promote the protection of North Korean refu17 gees, escapees, and defectors. 

18 SEC. 4. REAUTHORIZATIONS. 

19 (a) SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY

20 PROGRAMS.—Section 102(b)(1) of the North Korean 

21 Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7812(b)(1)) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2028’’. 

23 (b) ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMA24 TION.—Section 104 of the North Korean Human Rights 

25 Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7814) is amended— 
10 

•S 584 IS

1 (1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘2022’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘2028’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘2022’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘2028’’. 

5 (c) REPORT BY SPECIAL ENVOY ON NORTH KOREAN

6 HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES.—Section 107(d) of the North 

7 Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817(d)) 

8 is amended by striking ‘‘2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2028’’. 

9 (d) REPORT ON UNITED STATES HUMANITARIAN AS10 SISTANCE.—Section 201(a) of the North Korean Human 

11 Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7831(a)) is amended, in 

12 the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2022’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘2028’’. 

14 (e) ASSISTANCE PROVIDED OUTSIDE OF NORTH

15 KOREA.—Section 203 of the North Korean Human Rights 

16 Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7833) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘103(15)’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘103(17)’’; and 

19 (2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘2018 

20 through 2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2023 through 2028’’. 

21 (f) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Section 305(a) of the North 

22 Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7845(a)) 

23 is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by 

24 striking ‘‘2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2028’’. 
11 

•S 584 IS

1 SEC. 5. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMA2 TION. 

3 Title I of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 

4 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7811 et seq.) is amended— 

5 (1) in section 103(a), by striking ‘‘Broadcasting 

6 Board of Governors’’ and inserting ‘‘United States 

7 Agency for Global Media’’; and 

8 (2) in section 104(a)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘Broadcasting Board of 

10 Governors’’ each place such term appears and 

11 inserting ‘‘United States Agency for Global 

12 Media’’; 

13 (B) in paragraph (7)(B)— 

14 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

15 by striking ‘‘5 years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 

16 years’’; 

17 (ii) by redesignating clauses (i) 

18 through (iii) as clauses (ii) through (iv), 

19 respectively; 

20 (iii) by inserting before clause (ii) the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(i) an update of the plan required 

23 under subparagraph (A);’’; and 

24 (iv) in clause (iii), as redesignated, by 

25 striking ‘‘pursuant to section 403’’ and in26 serting ‘‘to carry out this section’’. 
12 

•S 584 IS

1 SEC. 6. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR NORTH KOREAN HUMAN 

2 RIGHTS ISSUES. 

3 Section 107 of the North Korean Human Rights Act 

4 of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817) is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: 

6 ‘‘(e) REPORT ON APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL

7 ENVOY.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the 

8 enactment of this subsection and annually thereafter 

9 through 2028 if the position of Special Envoy remains va10 cant, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the 

11 appropriate congressional committees that describes the 

12 efforts being taken to appoint the Special Envoy.’’. 

13 SEC. 7. SUPPORT FOR NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State and the 

15 Secretary of Homeland Security should collaborate with 

16 faith-based and Korean-American organizations to resettle 

17 North Korean participants in the United States Refugee 

18 Admissions Program in areas with existing Korean-Amer19 ican communities to mitigate trauma and mental health 

20 considerations of refugees, as appropriate. 

21 (b) RESETTLEMENT LOCATION ASSISTANCE EDU22 CATION.—The Secretary of State shall publicly dissemi23 nate guidelines and information relating to resettlement 

24 options in the United States or South Korea for eligible 

25 North Korean refugees, with a particular focus on mes26 saging to North Koreans. 
13 

•S 584 IS

1 (c) MECHANISMS.—The guidelines and information 

2 described in subsection (b)— 

3 (1) shall be published on a publicly available 

4 website of the Department of State; 

5 (2) shall be broadcast into North Korea 

6 through radio broadcasting operations funded or 

7 supported by the United States Government; and 

8 (3) shall be distributed through brochures or 

9 electronic storage devices. 

10 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF SANCTIONS FOR FORCED RE11 PATRIATION OF NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES. 

12 (a) DISCRETIONARY DESIGNATIONS.—Section 

13 104(b)(1) of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy En14 hancement Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9214) is amended— 

15 (1) in subparagraph (M), by striking ‘‘or’’ after 

16 the semicolon; 

17 (2) in subparagraph (N), by striking the period 

18 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(O) knowingly, directly or indirectly, 

21 forced the repatriation of North Korean refu22 gees to North Korea.’’. 

23 (b) EXEMPTIONS.—Section 208(a)(1) of the North 

24 Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 (22 
14 

•S 584 IS

1 U.S.C. 9228(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, the Repub2 lic of Korea, and Japan’’ before the period at the end. 

3 SEC. 9. REPORT ON HUMANITARIAN EXEMPTIONS TO SANC4 TIONS IMPOSED WITH RESPECT TO NORTH 

5 KOREA. 

6 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that— 

8 (1) the continued pursuit by the North Korean 

9 regime of weapons of mass destruction (including 

10 nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons), in addi11 tion to its ballistic missile program, along with the 

12 regime’s gross violations of human rights, have led 

13 the international community to impose sanctions 

14 with respect to North Korea, including sanctions im15 posed by the United Nations Security Council; 

16 (2) authorities should grant exemptions for hu17 manitarian assistance to the people of North Korea 

18 consistent with past United Nations Security Coun19 cil resolutions; and 

20 (3) humanitarian assistance intended to provide 

21 humanitarian relief to the people of North Korea 

22 must not be exploited or misdirected by the North 

23 Korean regime to benefit the military or elites of 

24 North Korea. 

25 (b) REPORTS REQUIRED.— 
15 

•S 584 IS

1 (1) DEFINED TERM.—In this subsection, the 

2 term ‘‘covered period’’ means— 

3 (A) in the case of the first report required 

4 to be submitted under paragraph (2), the pe5 riod beginning on January 1, 2018, and ending 

6 on the date that is 90 days after the date of the 

7 enactment of this Act; and 

8 (B) in the case of each subsequent report 

9 required to be submitted under paragraph (2), 

10 the 1-year period preceding the date by which 

11 the report is required to be submitted. 

12 (2) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an14 nually thereafter for the following 2 years, the Sec15 retary of State shall submit a report to Congress 

16 that— 

17 (A) describes— 

18 (i) how the North Korean regime has 

19 previously exploited humanitarian assist20 ance from the international community to 

21 benefit elites and the military in North 

22 Korea; 

23 (ii) the most effective methods to pro24 vide humanitarian relief, including mecha25 nisms to facilitate humanitarian assistance, 
16 

•S 584 IS

1 to the people of North Korea, who are in 

2 dire need of such assistance; 

3 (iii) any requests to the Committee of 

4 the United Nations Security Council estab5 lished by United Nations Security Council 

6 Resolution 1718 (2006) (referred to in this 

7 section as the ‘‘1718 Sanctions Com8 mittee’’) for humanitarian exemptions from 

9 sanctions known to have been denied dur10 ing the covered period or known to have 

11 been in process for more than 30 days as 

12 of the date of the report; and 

13 (iv) any known explanations for the 

14 denials and delays referred to in clause 

15 (iii); and 

16 (B) details any action by a foreign govern17 ment during the covered period that has de18 layed or impeded humanitarian assistance that 

19 was approved by the 1718 Sanctions Com20 mittee. 

Æ