PUBLIC LAW 110–346—OCT. 7, 2008 122 STAT. 3939 

Public Law 110–346 

110th Congress 

An Act 

To amend the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 to promote respect for 

the fundamental human rights of the people of North Korea, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

Reauthorization Act of 2008’’. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

Congress finds the following: 

(1) The North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (Public 

Law 108–333; 22 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.) (in this section referred 

to as ‘‘the Act’’) was the product of broad, bipartisan consensus 

in Congress regarding the promotion of human rights, transparency in the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and refugee 

protection. 

(2) In addition to the longstanding commitment of the 

United States to refugee and human rights advocacy, the 

United States is home to the largest Korean population outside 

of northeast Asia, and many in the two-million strong KoreanAmerican community have family ties to North Korea. 

(3) Human rights and humanitarian conditions inside 

North Korea are deplorable, North Korean refugees remain 

acutely vulnerable, and the findings in section 3 of the Act 

remain accurate today. 

(4) The Government of China is conducting an increasingly 

aggressive campaign to locate and forcibly return bordercrossers to North Korea, where they routinely face torture 

and imprisonment, and sometimes execution. According to 

recent reports, the Chinese Government is shutting down Christian churches and imprisoning people who help North Korean 

defectors and has increased the bounty paid for turning in 

North Korean refugees. 

(5) In an attempt to deter escape attempts, the Government 

of North Korea has reportedly stepped up its public execution 

of border-crossers and those who help others cross into China. 

(6) In spite of the requirement of the Act that the Special 

Envoy on Human Rights in North Korea (the ‘‘Special Envoy’’) 

report to the Congress no later than April 16, 2005, a Special 

Envoy was not appointed until August 19, 2005, more than 

four months after the reporting deadline. 

(7) The Special Envoy appointed by the President has filled 

that position on a part-time basis only. 

22 USC 7801 

note. 

22 USC 7801 

note. 

North Korean 

Human 

Rights 

Reauthorization 

Act of 2008. 

Oct. 7, 2008 

[H.R. 5834] 


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122 STAT. 3940 PUBLIC LAW 110–346—OCT. 7, 2008 

(8) Since the passage of the North Korean Human Rights 

Act, Congress has on several occasions expressed interest in 

the status of North Korean refugees, and on February 21, 

2006, a bipartisan group of senior Members of the House and 

Senate wrote Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ‘‘to express 

[their] deep concern for the lack of progress in funding and 

implementing the key provisions of the North Korean Human 

Rights Act’’, particularly the lack of North Korean refugee 

admissions to the United States. 

(9) Although the United States refugee resettlement program remains the largest in the world by far, the United 

States has resettled only 37 North Koreans in the period from 

2004 through 2007. 

(10) From the end of 2004 through 2007, the Republic 

of Korea resettled 5,961 North Koreans. 

(11) Extensive delays in assessment and processing have 

led numerous North Korean refugees to abandon their quest 

for United States resettlement, and long waits (of more than 

a year in some cases) have been the source of considerable 

discouragement and frustration among refugees, many of whom 

are awaiting United States resettlement in circumstances that 

are unsafe and insecure. 

(12) From 2000 through 2006, the United States granted 

asylum to 15 North Koreans, as compared to 60 North Korean 

asylum grantees in the United Kingdom, and 135 in Germany 

during that same period. 

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

It is the sense of Congress that— 

(1) the United States should continue to make it a priority 

to seek broader permission and greater cooperation from foreign 

governments to allow the United States to process North 

Korean refugees overseas for resettlement in the United States, 

through persistent diplomacy by senior officials of the United 

States, including United States ambassadors to Asia-Pacific 

nations; 

(2) at the same time that careful screening of intending 

refugees is important, the United States also should make 

every effort to ensure that its screening, processing, and 

resettlement of North Korean refugees are as efficient and 

expeditious as possible; 

(3) the Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights 

Issues should be a full-time position within the Department 

of State in order to properly promote and coordinate North 

Korean human rights and humanitarian issues, and to participate in policy planning and implementation with respect to 

refugee issues, as intended by the North Korean Human Rights 

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

(4) in an effort to more efficiently and actively participate 

in humanitarian burden-sharing, the United States should 

approach our ally, the Republic of Korea, to revisit and explore 

new opportunities for coordinating efforts to screen and resettle 

North Koreans who have expressed a wish to pursue resettlement in the United States and have not yet availed themselves 

of any right to citizenship they may enjoy under the Constitution of the Republic of Korea; and 

22 USC 7801 

note. 


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PUBLIC LAW 110–346—OCT. 7, 2008 122 STAT. 3941 

(5) because there are genuine refugees among North 

Koreans fleeing into China who face severe punishments upon 

their forcible return, the United States should urge the Government of China to— 

(A) immediately halt its forcible repatriation of North 

Koreans; 

(B) fulfill its obligations pursuant to the 1951 United 

Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 

the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, and 

the 1995 Agreement on the Upgrading of the UNHCR 

Mission in the People’s Republic of China to UNHCR 

Branch Office in the People’s Republic of China; and 

(C) allow the United Nations High Commissioner for 

Refugees (UNHCR) unimpeded access to North Koreans 

inside China to determine whether they are refugees and 

whether they require assistance. 

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

Section 5(1)(A) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 

2004 (Public Law 108–333; 22 U.S.C. 7803(1)(A)) is amended by 

striking ‘‘International Relations’’ and inserting ‘‘Foreign Affairs’’. 

SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY PROGRAMS. 

Section 102(b)(1) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 

2004 (22 U.S.C. 7812(b)(1)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘2008’’ 

the following: ‘‘and $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 

2012’’. 

SEC. 6. RADIO BROADCASTING TO NORTH KOREA. 

Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of 

this Act, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) shall submit 

to the appropriate congressional committees, as defined in section 

5(1) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 

7803(1)), a report that describes the status and content of current 

United States broadcasting to North Korea and the extent to which 

the BBG has achieved the goal of 12-hour-per-day broadcasting 

to North Korea pursuant to section 103 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 

7813). 

SEC. 7. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION. 

Section 104 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 

(22 U.S.C. 7814) is amended— 

(1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘2008’’ and inserting 

‘‘2012’’; and 

(2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘in each of the 3 years 

thereafter’’ and inserting ‘‘annually through 2012’’. 

SEC. 8. SPECIAL ENVOY ON NORTH KOREAN HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES. 

Section 107 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 

(22 U.S.C. 7817) is amended— 

(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘HUMAN RIGHTS

IN NORTH KOREA’’ and inserting ‘‘NORTH KOREAN HUMAN

RIGHTS ISSUES’’; 

(2) in subsection (a)— 

(A) in the first sentence— 

(i) by striking ‘‘human rights in North Korea’’ and 

inserting ‘‘North Korean human rights issues’’; and 

Deadline. 

Reports. 


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122 STAT. 3942 PUBLIC LAW 110–346—OCT. 7, 2008 

(ii) by inserting before the period at the end the 

following: ‘‘, by and with the advice and consent of 

the Senate’’; 

(B) in the second sentence, by inserting before the 

period at the end the following: ‘‘who shall have the rank 

of ambassador and shall hold the office at the pleasure 

of the President’’; 

(3) in subsection (b), by inserting before the period at 

the end the following: ‘‘, including, in coordination with the 

Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, the protection 

of those people who have fled as refugees’’; 

(4) in subsection (c)— 

(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) as 

paragraphs (2) through (7), respectively; 

(B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated, the following new paragraph: 

‘‘(1) participate in the formulation and the implementation 

of activities carried out pursuant to this Act;’’; and 

(C) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated, by striking 

‘‘section 102’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 102 and 104’’; and 

(5) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘for the subsequent 5 

year-period’’ and inserting ‘‘thereafter through 2012’’. 

SEC. 9. REPORT ON UNITED STATES HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE. 

Section 201(a) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 

(22 U.S.C. 7831(a)) is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph 

(1), by striking ‘‘in each of the 2 years thereafter’’ and inserting 

‘‘annually thereafter through 2012’’. 

SEC. 10. ASSISTANCE PROVIDED OUTSIDE OF NORTH KOREA. 

Section 203(c)(1) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 

2004 (22 U.S.C. 7833(c)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘2008’’ and 

inserting ‘‘2012’’. 

SEC. 11. ANNUAL REPORTS. 

Section 305(a) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 

(22 U.S.C. 7845(a)) is amended— 

(1) in the subsection heading, by inserting ‘‘AND REFUGEE’’ 

before ‘‘INFORMATION’’; 

(2) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

(A) by striking ‘‘for each of the following 5 years’’ 

and inserting ‘‘through 2012’’; and 

(B) by striking ‘‘which shall include—’’ and inserting 

‘‘which shall include the following:’’; 

(3) in paragraph (1)— 

(A) by striking ‘‘the number of aliens’’ and inserting 

‘‘The number of aliens’’; and 

(B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end and inserting a 

period; 

(4) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the number of aliens’’ 

and inserting ‘‘The number of aliens’’; and 

(5) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

‘‘(3) A detailed description of the measures undertaken 

by the Secretary of State to carry out section 303, including 

country-specific information with respect to United States 

efforts to secure the cooperation and permission of the governments of countries in East and Southeast Asia to facilitate 

United States processing of North Koreans seeking protection 


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PUBLIC LAW 110–346—OCT. 7, 2008 122 STAT. 3943 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 5834: 

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 110–628 (Comm. on Foreign Affairs). 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 154 (2008): 

May 13, 15, considered and passed House. 

Sept. 22, considered and passed Senate, amended. 

Sept. 23, House concurred in Senate amendments. 

Æ 

as refugees. The information required under this paragraph 

shall be provided in unclassified form, with a classified annex, 

if necessary.’’. 

Approved October 7, 2008. 


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