II 

Calendar No. 280 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1118 

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

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 11, 2017 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. 

CRUZ, and Mr. HATCH) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

DECEMBER 11, 2017 

Reported by Mr. CORKER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) In 2014, the United Nations Commission of 

4 Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in the Democratic 

5 People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) found that the 

6 grave human rights violations still being perpetrated 

7 against the people of North Korea, due to policies 

8 established at the highest level of the state, amount 

9 to crimes against humanity. Crimes include forced 

10 starvation, sexual violence against women and chil11 dren, restrictions on freedom of movement, arbitrary 

12 detention, torture, executions, and enforced dis13 appearances, among other hardships. 

14 (2) The COI also noted that the Government of 

15 the People’s Republic of China is aiding and abet16 ting in crimes against humanity by forcibly repa17 triating North Korean refugees back to the DPRK. 

18 Upon repatriation, North Koreans are sent to prison 

19 camps, tortured, or even executed. The Government 

20 of the People’s Republic of China’s forcible repatri21 ation of North Korean refugees violates its obliga22 tion to uphold the principle of non-refoulement, 

23 under the United Nations Convention Relating to 

24 the Status of Refugees, done at Geneva July 28, 

25 1951 (as made applicable by the Protocol Relating 


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1 to the Status of Refugees, done at New York Janu2 ary 31, 1967 (19 UST 6223)). 

3 (3) Estimates from the COI suggest that be4 tween 80,000 and 120,000 people are believed to be 

5 imprisoned in political prison camps in North Korea. 

6 Another 70,000 are believed to be held at other de7 tention facilities. Prisoners in both situations are 

8 subject to harsh conditions, limited food, sexual 

9 abuse, and in most cases hard labor. 

10 (4) One of the most overlooked findings of the 

11 COI report was the persecution of religious minori12 ties, especially Christians. There is effectively no 

13 freedom of religion in North Korea, only worship of 

14 the Kim family. Christians are subjected to particu15 larly acute persecution. It has been reported that 

16 Christians in North Korea have been tortured, forc17 ibly detained, and even executed for possessing a 

18 Bible or professing Christianity. 

19 (5) North Korea profits from its human rights 

20 abuses. One report from the Asan Institute for Pol21 icy Studies suggests that there are nearly 50,000 

22 North Korean workers forced to labor overseas, 

23 sometimes without compensation, and for as much 

24 as 20 hours at a time. Workers that received com25 pensation were not to be paid more than $150 per 


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1 month, which is between 10 to 20 percent of the 

2 value of the labor they performed. Based on this re3 port, the regime may profit as much as 

4 $360,000,000 annually from just 50,000 laborers. 

5 (6) On July 6, 2016, the United States imposed 

6 sanctions on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and 

7 other senior North Korean officials for human rights 

8 violations as required by the North Korea Sanctions 

9 and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 (Public Law 

10 114–122). This was the first time that the United 

11 States had designated North Korean entities for 

12 human rights abuses. 

13 (7) The North Korea Sanctions and Policy En14 hancement Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–122) re15 quires the President to impose mandatory penalties 

16 under United States law on any person that ‘‘know17 ingly engages in, is responsible for, or facilitates se18 rious human rights abuses by the Government of 

19 North Korea’’. 

20 (8) Although the United States Refugee Admis21 sions Program remains the largest in the world by 

22 far, the United States has resettled only 174 refu23 gees from North Korea between January 2008 and 

24 January 2017. Since the enactment of the North 

25 Korea Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2008 


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1 (Public Law 110–346), the United States has reset2 tled a total of 212 refugees from the DPRK. 

3 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that— 

5 (1) the United States Government should con6 tinue to make it a priority to improve information 

7 access in North Korea by exploring the use of new 

8 and emerging technologies and expanding non9 governmental radio broadcasting to North Korea, in10 cluding news and information, to increase informa11 tion dissemination in the DPRK; 

12 (2) in an effort to more efficiently and actively 

13 participate in humanitarian burden-sharing, the 

14 Governments of the United States and the Republic 

15 of South Korea should commit to revisit and explore 

16 new opportunities for coordinating efforts to plan for 

17 a humanitarian and human rights disaster in ad18 vance of the collapse of the DPRK; 

19 (3) the United Nations has a significant role to 

20 play in promoting and improving human rights in 

21 North Korea and should press for access for the 

22 Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights 

23 in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as 

24 well as the United Nations High Commissioner for 

25 Human Rights; 


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1 (4) because refugees among North Koreans 

2 fleeing into China face severe punishments upon 

3 their forcible return, the United States should urge 

4 the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

5 to— 

6 (A) immediately halt its forcible repatri7 ation of North Koreans; 

8 (B) fulfill its obligations pursuant to the 

9 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to 

10 the Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol Re11 lating to the Status of Refugees, and the 1995 

12 Agreement on the Upgrading of the UNHCR 

13 Mission in the People’s Republic of China; 

14 (C) allow the United Nations High Com15 missioner for Refugees (UNHCR) unimpeded 

16 access to North Koreans inside China to deter17 mine whether they are refugees and whether 

18 they require assistance; 

19 (D) address the concerns of the United 

20 Nations Committee against Torture by incor21 porating the principle of non-refoulement into 

22 domestic legislation; and 

23 (E) recognize the legal status of North Ko24 rean women who marry or have children with 

25 Chinese citizens, and ensure that all such chilVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Dec 11, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118

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1 dren are granted resident status and access to 

2 education and other public services in accord3 ance with Chinese law and international stand4 ards; 

5 (5) the President should continue to designate 

6 all individuals found to have committed violations 

7 described in section 104(a) of the North Korea 

8 Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 (22 

9 U.S.C. 2914(a)), regarding complicity in censorship 

10 and human right abuses; and 

11 (6) United States citizens should not travel to 

12 the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the 

13 Department of State should launch a public aware14 ness campaign about the risks and dangers of such 

15 travel. 

16 SEC. 4. RADIO BROADCASTING TO NORTH KOREA. 

17 Section 103(a) of the North Korean Human Rights 

18 Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7813(a)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘that the United States should 

20 facilitate’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘that the 

21 United States should— 

22 ‘‘(1) facilitate’’; 

23 (2) in paragraph (1), as redesignated by para24 graph (1) of this section— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘radio broadcasting’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘broadcasting, including news re3 broadcasting,’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘increase broadcasts’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘increase such broadcasts, including 

6 news rebroadcasts,’’; and 

7 (C) by striking ‘‘Voice of America.’’ and 

8 inserting the following: ‘‘Voice of America; 

9 and’’; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

11 paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(2) expand funding for nongovernmental orga13 nization broadcasting efforts, prioritizing organiza14 tions that engage North Korean defectors in pro15 gramming and broadcast services.’’. 

16 SEC. 5. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMA17 TION. 

18 Section 104(a) of the North Korean Human Rights 

19 Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7814(a)) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘The President’’ and inserting 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President’’; 

23 (2) by inserting ‘‘, USB drives, micro SD cards, 

24 audio players, video players, cell phones, wi-fi, wire25 less internet, webpages, internet, wireless teleVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Dec 11, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118

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1 communications, and other electronic media that 

2 shares information’’ before the period at the end; 

3 and 

4 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

5 paragraphs: 

6 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION.—In accordance with the 

7 sense of Congress described in section 103, the 

8 President, acting through the Secretary of State, is 

9 authorized to distribute or provide grants to dis10 tribute information receiving devices, electronically 

11 readable devices, and other informational sources 

12 into North Korea, including devices and informa13 tional sources specified in paragraph (1). To carry 

14 out this paragraph, the President is authorized to 

15 issue regulations to facilitate the free-flow of infor16 mation into North Korea. 

17 ‘‘(3) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANT

18 PROGRAM.—In accordance with the authorization de19 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2) to increase the 

20 availability and distribution of sources of informa21 tion inside North Korea, the President, acting 

22 through the Secretary of State, is authorized to es23 tablish a grant program to make grants to eligible 

24 entities to develop or distribute (or both) new prod25 ucts or methods to allow North Koreans easier acVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Dec 11, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118

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1 cess to outside information. Such program may in2 volve public-private partnerships. 

3 ‘‘(4) CULTURE.—In accordance with the sense 

4 of Congress described in section 103, the Broad5 casting Board of Governors may broadcast Amer6 ican, Korean, Chinese, and other popular music, tel7 evision, movies, and popular cultural references as 

8 part of its programming. 

9 ‘‘(5) RIGHTS AND LAWS.—In accordance with 

10 the sense of Congress described in section 103, the 

11 Broadcasting Board of Governors shall broadcast to 

12 North Korea in the Korean language information on 

13 rights, laws, and freedoms afforded through the 

14 North Korean Constitution, the Universal Declara15 tion of Human Rights, the United Nations Commis16 sion of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic 

17 People’s Republic of Korea, and any other applicable 

18 treaties or international agreements to which North 

19 Korea is bound. 

20 ‘‘(6) FOCUS ON RELIGIOUS MINORITIES.—Ef21 forts to improve information access under this sub22 section should give priority to religious communities 

23 and should be coordinated with the Office of Inter24 national Religious Freedom to ensure maximum imVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Dec 11, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118

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1 pact in improving the rights of religious persons in 

2 North Korea. 

3 ‘‘(7) BROADCASTING REPORT.—Not later 

4 than— 

5 ‘‘(A) 180 days after the date of the enact6 ment of this paragraph, the Secretary of State, 

7 in consultation with the Broadcasting Board of 

8 Governors, shall submit to the appropriate con9 gressional committees a report that sets forth a 

10 detailed plan for improving broadcasting con11 tent for the purpose of targeting new audiences 

12 and increasing listenership; and 

13 ‘‘(B) one year after the date of the enact14 ment of this paragraph and annually thereafter 

15 for each of the next five years, the Secretary of 

16 State, in consultation with the Broadcasting 

17 Board of Governors, shall submit to the appro18 priate congressional committees a report includ19 ing— 

20 ‘‘(i) a description of the effectiveness 

21 of actions taken pursuant to this section, 

22 including data reflecting audience and 

23 listenership, device distribution and usage, 

24 and technological development and ad25 vancement usage; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the amount of funds expended by 

2 the United States Government pursuant to 

3 section 403; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) other appropriate information 

5 necessary to fully inform Congress of ef6 forts related to this section.’’. 

7 SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ACTIONS TO PREPARE 

8 FOR GOVERNMENTAL COLLAPSE IN NORTH 

9 KOREA. 

10 Title III of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 

11 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7841 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

12 the end the following new section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 306. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ACTIONS TO PREPARE 

14 FOR GOVERNMENTAL COLLAPSE IN NORTH 

15 KOREA. 

16 ‘‘It is the sense of Congress that— 

17 ‘‘(1) a collapse of the current Government, or 

18 a significant change in the leadership, of the Demo19 cratic People’s Republic of Korea could impact sta20 bility and security of the region, and critical United 

21 States interests, and would result in a significant 

22 flow of refugees to neighboring states; and 

23 ‘‘(2) as such, the United States Government 

24 should work with countries sharing a land or mari25 time border with the DPRK to develop long-term 


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1 whole-of-government plans to coordinate efforts re2 lated to humanitarian assistance and human rights 

3 promotion and to effectively assimilate North Ko4 rean defectors.’’. 

5 SEC. 7. REAUTHORIZATION PROVISIONS. 

6 (a) SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY

7 PROGRAMS.—Section 102 of the North Korean Human 

8 Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7812(b)(1)) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

10 following: ‘‘The President is also authorized to pro11 vide grants to entities to undertake research on 

12 North Korea’s denial of human rights, including on 

13 the political and military chains of command respon14 sible for authorizing and implementing systemic 

15 human rights abuses, including at prison camps and 

16 detention facilities where political prisoners are 

17 held.’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘2017’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘2022’’. 

20 (b) ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMA21 TION.—Subsections (b)(1) and (c) of section 104 of the 

22 North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 

23 7814) are amended by striking ‘‘2017’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘2022’’ each place it appears. 


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1 (c) SPECIAL ENVOY ON NORTH KOREAN HUMAN

2 RIGHTS ISSUES.—Section 107(d) of the North Korean 

3 Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817(d)) is amend4 ed by striking ‘‘2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2022’’. 

5 (d) REPORT ON UNITED STATES HUMANITARIAN AS6 SISTANCE.—Section 201 of the North Korean Human 

7 Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7831 is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

9 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2017’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘2022’’; 

11 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub12 section (c); and 

13 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol14 lowing new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(b) NEEDS ASSESSMENT.—The report shall include 

16 a needs assessment to inform the distribution of humani17 tarian assistance inside North Korea.’’. 

18 (e) ASSISTANCE PROVIDED OUTSIDE OF NORTH

19 KOREA.—Section 203(c)(1) of the North Korean Human 

20 Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7833(c)(1)) is amended 

21 by striking ‘‘2013 through 2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2018 

22 through 2022’’. 

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

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


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

2 striking ‘‘2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2022’’. 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Rights Reauthorization Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) In 2014, the United Nations Commission of 

9 Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in the Democratic 

10 People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) found that the 

11 grave human rights violations still being perpetrated 

12 against the people of North Korea, due to policies es13 tablished at the highest level of the state, amount to 

14 crimes against humanity. Crimes include forced star15 vation, sexual violence against women and children, 

16 restrictions on freedom of movement, arbitrary deten17 tion, torture, executions, and enforced disappearances, 

18 among other hardships. 

19 (2) The COI also noted that the Government of 

20 the People’s Republic of China is aiding and abetting 

21 in crimes against humanity by forcibly repatriating 

22 North Korean refugees back to the DPRK. Upon repa23 triation, North Koreans are sent to prison camps, tor24 tured, or even executed. The Government of the Peo25 ple’s Republic of China’s forcible repatriation of 


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1 North Korean refugees violates its obligation to up2 hold the principle of non-refoulement, under the 

3 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of 

4 Refugees, done at Geneva July 28, 1951 (as made ap5 plicable by the Protocol Relating to the Status of Ref6 ugees, done at New York January 31, 1967 (19 UST 

7 6223)). 

8 (3) Estimates from the COI suggest that between 

9 80,000 and 120,000 people are believed to be impris10 oned in political prison camps in North Korea. An11 other 70,000 are believed to be held at other detention 

12 facilities. Prisoners in both situations are subject to 

13 harsh conditions, limited food, sexual abuse, and in 

14 most cases hard labor. 

15 (4) One of the most overlooked findings of the 

16 COI report was the persecution of religious minori17 ties, especially Christians. There is effectively no free18 dom of religion in North Korea, only worship of the 

19 Kim family. Christians are subjected to particularly 

20 acute persecution. It has been reported that Chris21 tians in North Korea have been tortured, forcibly de22 tained, and even executed for possessing a Bible or 

23 professing Christianity. 

24 (5) North Korea profits from its human rights 

25 abuses. One report from the Asan Institute for Policy 


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1 Studies suggests that there are nearly 50,000 North 

2 Korean workers forced to labor overseas, sometimes 

3 without compensation, and for as much as 20 hours 

4 at a time. Workers that received compensation were 

5 not to be paid more than $150 per month, which is 

6 between 10 to 20 percent of the value of the labor they 

7 performed. Based on this report, the regime may prof8 it as much as $360,000,000 annually from just 

9 50,000 laborers. 

10 (6) On July 6, 2016, the United States imposed 

11 sanctions on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and 

12 other senior North Korean officials for human rights 

13 violations as required by the North Korea Sanctions 

14 and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 (Public Law 

15 114–122). This was the first time that the United 

16 States had designated North Korean entities for 

17 human rights abuses. 

18 (7) The North Korea Sanctions and Policy En19 hancement Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–122) re20 quires the President to impose mandatory penalties 

21 under United States law on any person that ‘‘know22 ingly engages in, is responsible for, or facilitates seri23 ous human rights abuses by the Government of North 

24 Korea’’. 


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1 (8) Although the United States Refugee Admis2 sions Program remains the largest in the world by 

3 far, the United States has resettled only 174 refugees 

4 from North Korea between January 2008 and Janu5 ary 2017. Since the enactment of the North Korea 

6 Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Public 

7 Law 110–346), the United States has resettled a total 

8 of 212 refugees from the DPRK. 

9 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

10 It is the sense of Congress that— 

11 (1) the United States Government should con12 tinue to make it a priority to improve information 

13 access in North Korea by exploring the use of new 

14 and emerging technologies and expanding nongovern15 mental radio broadcasting to North Korea, including 

16 news and information, to increase information dis17 semination in the DPRK; 

18 (2) in an effort to more efficiently and actively 

19 participate in humanitarian burden-sharing, the 

20 Governments of the United States and the Republic of 

21 South Korea should commit to revisit and explore 

22 new opportunities for coordinating efforts to plan for 

23 a humanitarian and human rights disaster; 

24 (3) the United Nations has a significant role to 

25 play in promoting and improving human rights in 


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1 North Korea and should press for access for the Spe2 cial Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in 

3 the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as well as 

4 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 

5 Rights; 

6 (4) because refugees among North Koreans fleeing 

7 into China face severe punishments upon their forc8 ible return, the United States should urge the Govern9 ment of the People’s Republic of China to— 

10 (A) immediately halt its forcible repatri11 ation of North Koreans; 

12 (B) fulfill its obligations pursuant to the 

13 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the 

14 Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol Relating to 

15 the Status of Refugees, and the 1995 Agreement 

16 on the Upgrading of the UNHCR Mission in the 

17 People’s Republic of China; 

18 (C) allow the United Nations High Com19 missioner for Refugees (UNHCR) unimpeded ac20 cess to North Koreans inside China to determine 

21 whether they are refugees and whether they re22 quire assistance; 

23 (D) address the concerns of the United Na24 tions Committee against Torture by incorVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Dec 11, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118

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1 porating the principle of non-refoulement into 

2 domestic legislation; and 

3 (E) recognize the legal status of North Ko4 rean women who marry or have children with 

5 Chinese citizens, and ensure that all such chil6 dren are granted resident status and access to 

7 education and other public services in accord8 ance with Chinese law and international stand9 ards; 

10 (5) the President should continue to designate all 

11 individuals found to have committed violations de12 scribed in section 104(a) of the North Korea Sanc13 tions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 (22 

14 U.S.C. 2914(a)), regarding complicity in censorship 

15 and human right abuses; 

16 (6) United States citizens should not travel to 

17 the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the 

18 Department of State should launch a public aware19 ness campaign about the risks and dangers of such 

20 travel; 

21 (7) the United States should continue to seek co22 operation from all foreign governments to allow the 

23 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ac24 cess to process North Korean refugees overseas for re25 settlement and to allow United States officials access 


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1 to process refugees for resettlement in the United 

2 States (if that is the destination country of the refu3 gees’ choosing); 

4 (8) the Secretary of State, through persistent di5 plomacy by senior officials, including United States 

6 ambassadors to Asia-Pacific countries, and in close 

7 cooperation with United States ally South Korea, 

8 should make every effort to promote the protection of 

9 North Korean refugees and defectors; and 

10 (9) because North Koreans fleeing into China 

11 face a well-founded fear of persecution upon their 

12 forcible repatriation, the United States should urge 

13 China to— 

14 (A) immediately halt the forcible repatri15 ation of North Koreans; 

16 (B) allow the United Nations High Com17 missioner for Refugees unimpeded access to 

18 North Koreans inside China to determine wheth19 er such North Koreans require protection as refu20 gees; and 

21 (C) fulfill its obligations under the 1951 

22 United Nations Convention Relating to the Sta23 tus of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol Relating to the 

24 Status of Refugees, and the Agreement on the 

25 Upgrading of the UNHCR Mission in the PeoVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Dec 11, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118

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1 ple’s Republic of China to UNHCR Branch Of2 fice in the People’s Republic of China (signed 

3 December 1, 1995). 

4 SEC. 4. RADIO BROADCASTING TO NORTH KOREA. 

5 Section 103(a) of the North Korean Human Rights Act 

6 of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7813(a)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘that the United States should fa8 cilitate’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘that the United 

9 States should— 

10 ‘‘(1) facilitate’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (1), as redesignated by para12 graph (1) of this section— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘radio broadcasting’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘broadcasting, including news rebroad15 casting,’’; and 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘increase broadcasts’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘increase such broadcasts, including 

18 news rebroadcasts,’’; and 

19 (C) by striking ‘‘Voice of America.’’ and in20 serting the following: ‘‘Voice of America; and’’; 

21 and 

22 (3) by adding at the end the following new para23 graph: 

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1 tions that engage North Korean defectors in program2 ming and broadcast services.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION. 

4 Section 104(a) of the North Korean Human Rights Act 

5 of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7814(a)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘The President’’ and inserting 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President’’; 

9 (2) by inserting ‘‘, USB drives, micro SD cards, 

10 audio players, video players, cell phones, wi-fi, wire11 less internet, webpages, internet, wireless tele12 communications, and other electronic media that 

13 shares information’’ before the period at the end; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new para15 graphs: 

16 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION.—In accordance with the 

17 sense of Congress described in section 103, the Presi18 dent, acting through the Secretary of State, is author19 ized to distribute or provide grants to distribute in20 formation receiving devices, electronically readable de21 vices, and other informational sources into North 

22 Korea, including devices and informational sources 

23 specified in paragraph (1). To carry out this para24 graph, the President is authorized to issue regulations 


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1 to facilitate the free-flow of information into North 

2 Korea. 

3 ‘‘(3) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANT PRO4 GRAM.—In accordance with the authorization de5 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2) to increase the 

6 availability and distribution of sources of information 

7 inside North Korea, the President, acting through the 

8 Secretary of State, is authorized to establish a grant 

9 program to make grants to eligible entities to develop 

10 or distribute (or both) new products or methods to 

11 allow North Koreans easier access to outside informa12 tion. Such program may involve public-private part13 nerships. 

14 ‘‘(4) CULTURE.—In accordance with the sense of 

15 Congress described in section 103, the Broadcasting 

16 Board of Governors may broadcast American, Ko17 rean, Chinese, and other popular music, television, 

18 movies, and popular cultural references as part of its 

19 programming. 

20 ‘‘(5) RIGHTS AND LAWS.—In accordance with the 

21 sense of Congress described in section 103, the Broad22 casting Board of Governors should broadcast to North 

23 Korea in the Korean language information on rights, 

24 laws, and freedoms afforded through the North Korean 

25 Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human 


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1 Rights, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on 

2 Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic 

3 of Korea, and any other applicable treaties or inter4 national agreements to which North Korea is bound. 

5 ‘‘(6) FOCUS ON RELIGIOUS MINORITIES.—Efforts 

6 to improve information access under this subsection 

7 should give priority to religious communities and 

8 should be coordinated with the Office of International 

9 Religious Freedom to ensure maximum impact in im10 proving the rights of religious persons in North 

11 Korea. 

12 ‘‘(7) BROADCASTING REPORT.—Not later than— 

13 ‘‘(A) 180 days after the date of the enact14 ment of this paragraph, the Secretary of State, 

15 in consultation with the Broadcasting Board of 

16 Governors, shall submit to the appropriate con17 gressional committees a report that sets forth a 

18 detailed plan for improving broadcasting content 

19 for the purpose of targeting new audiences and 

20 increasing listenership; and 

21 ‘‘(B) one year after the date of the enact22 ment of this paragraph and annually thereafter 

23 for each of the next five years, the Secretary of 

24 State, in consultation with the Broadcasting 

25 Board of Governors, shall submit to the approVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Dec 11, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118

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1 priate congressional committees a report includ2 ing— 

3 ‘‘(i) a description of the effectiveness of 

4 actions taken pursuant to this section, in5 cluding data reflecting audience and 

6 listenership, device distribution and usage, 

7 and technological development and advance8 ment usage; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the amount of funds expended by 

10 the United States Government pursuant to 

11 section 403; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) other appropriate information 

13 necessary to fully inform Congress of efforts 

14 related to this section.’’. 

15 SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON HUMANITARIAN COORDI16 NATION RELATED TO THE KOREAN PENIN17 SULA. 

18 Title III of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 

19 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7841 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

20 end the following new section: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 306. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON HUMANITARIAN CO22 ORDINATION RELATED TO THE KOREAN PE23 NINSULA. 

24 ‘‘It is the sense of Congress that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) any instability on the Korean Peninsula 

2 could have significant humanitarian and strategic 

3 impact on the region and for United States national 

4 interests; and 

5 ‘‘(2) as such, the United States Government 

6 should work with countries sharing a land or mari7 time border with the DPRK to develop long-term 

8 whole-of-government plans to coordinate efforts related 

9 to humanitarian assistance and human rights pro10 motion and to effectively assimilate North Korean de11 fectors.’’. 

12 SEC. 7. REAUTHORIZATION PROVISIONS. 

13 (a) SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY

14 PROGRAMS.—Section 102 of the North Korean Human 

15 Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7812(b)(1)) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

17 following: ‘‘The President is also authorized to pro18 vide grants to entities to undertake research on North 

19 Korea’s denial of human rights, including on the po20 litical and military chains of command responsible 

21 for authorizing and implementing systemic human 

22 rights abuses, including at prison camps and deten23 tion facilities where political prisoners are held.’’; and 

24 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘2017’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘2022’’. 


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1 (b) ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMA2 TION.—Section 104 of the North Korean Human Rights Act 

3 of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7814) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (b)(1)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘$2,000,000’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘$3,000,000’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘2017’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘2022’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘2017’’ and in10 serting ‘‘2022’’. 

11 (c) REPORT BY SPECIAL ENVOY ON NORTH KOREAN

12 HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES.—Section 107(d) of the North Ko13 rean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817(d)) is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2022’’. 

15 (d) REPORT ON UNITED STATES HUMANITARIAN AS16 SISTANCE.—Section 201 of the North Korean Human 

17 Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7831 is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

19 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2017’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘2022’’; 

21 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection 

22 (c); and 

23 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following 

24 new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(b) NEEDS ASSESSMENT.—The report shall include 

2 a needs assessment to inform the distribution of humani3 tarian assistance inside North Korea.’’. 

4 (e) ASSISTANCE PROVIDED OUTSIDE OF NORTH

5 KOREA.—Section 203(c)(1) of the North Korean Human 

6 Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7833(c)(1)) is amended by 

7 striking ‘‘2013 through 2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2018 through 

8 2022’’. 

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

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

11 amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking 

12 ‘‘2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2022’’. 

13 SEC. 8. REPORT BY BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Broadcasting Board 

16 of Governors shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

17 committees a report that— 

18 (1) describes the status of current United States 

19 broadcasting to North Korea and the extent to which 

20 the Board has achieved the goal of 12-hour-per-day 

21 broadcasting to North Korea, in accordance with sec22 tion 103(a) of the North Korean Human Rights Act 

23 of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7813(a)); and 

24 (2) includes a strategy to overcome obstacles to 

25 such communication with the North Korean people, 


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1 including through unrestricted, unmonitored, and in2 expensive electronic means. 

3 (b) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

4 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a 

5 classified annex. 

6 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—In 

7 this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit8 tees’’ means— 

9 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 

10 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

11 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

12 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep13 resentatives. 

14 SEC. 9. REPEAL OF DUPLICATIVE AUTHORIZATIONS. 

15 Section 403 of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy 

16 Enhancement Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–122; 22 U.S.C. 

17 9253) is hereby repealed. 


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Calendar No. 280 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1118 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights 

Act of 2004, and for other purposes. 

DECEMBER 11, 2017 

Reported with an amendment 


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