115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 479 

AN ACT 

To require a report on the designation of the Democratic 

People’s Republic of Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘North Korea State 

3 Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act of 2017’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REPORT ON DESIGNATION OF GOVERNMENT OF 

5 NORTH KOREA AS A STATE SPONSOR OF TER6 RORISM. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The United States Government designated 

9 the Government of North Korea a state sponsor of 

10 terrorism on January 20, 1988. 

11 (2) On October 11, 2008, North Korea’s des12 ignation as a state sponsor of terrorism was re13 scinded, following commitments by the Government 

14 of North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons 

15 program. However, North Korea has failed to live up 

16 to these commitments. 

17 (3) On October 22, 2015, the United States 

18 Special Representative for North Korea Policy with 

19 the Department of State, testified before the House 

20 Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non21 proliferation, and Trade that North Korea’s ‘‘con22 duct poses a growing threat to the United States, 

23 our friends in the region, and the global non24 proliferation regime’’ and the Deputy Coordinator 

25 for Homeland Security, Screening, and Designations 

26 with the U.S. Department of State noted that 
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1 ‘‘weapons transfers that violate nonproliferation or 

2 missile control regimes could be a relevant factor for 

3 consideration, depending on the circumstances, con4 sistent with the statutory criteria for designation as 

5 a state sponsor of terrorism’’. 

6 (4) The Government of North Korea has har7 bored members of the Japanese Red Army since a 

8 1970 hijacking and continues to harbor the sur9 viving hijackers to this day. 

10 (5) On July 16, 2010, in the case of Calderon11 Cardona v. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 

12 (case number 08–01367), the United States District 

13 Court for the District of Puerto Rico found that the 

14 Government of North Korea provided material sup15 port to the Japanese Red Army, designated as a for16 eign terrorist organization between 1997 and 2001, 

17 in furtherance of a 1972 terrorist attack at Lod Air18 port, Israel that killed 26 people, including 17 

19 Americans. 

20 (6) In the case of Chaim Kaplan v. Hezbollah 

21 (case number 09–646), a United States district 

22 court found in 2014 that North Korea materially 

23 supported terrorist attacks by Hezbollah, a des24 ignated foreign terrorist organization, against Israel 

25 in 2006. 
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1 (7) In June 2010, Major Kim Myong-ho and 

2 Major Dong Myong-gwan of North Korea’s Recon3 naissance General Bureau pled guilty in a South Ko4 rean court to attempting to assassinate Hwang 

5 Jang-yop, a North Korean dissident in exile, on the 

6 orders of Lieutenant General Kim Yong-chol, the 

7 head of North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bu8 reau. The court sentenced each defendant to 10 

9 years in prison. 

10 (8) In March 2015, the Government of South 

11 Korea concluded that North Korea was responsible 

12 for a December 2014 cyber attack against multiple 

13 nuclear power plants in South Korea. The South 

14 Korean Government stated that the attacks were in15 tended to cause a malfunction at the plants’ reac16 tors, and described the attacks as acts of ‘‘cyber-ter17 ror targeting our country’’. 

18 (9) On December 19, 2015, the Federal Bureau 

19 of Investigation (FBI) concluded that North Korea 

20 was responsible for a cyber attack on Sony Pictures 

21 Entertainment and a subsequent threat of violence 

22 against theaters that showed the film ‘‘The Inter23 view’’. The FBI concluded that the ‘‘Guardians of 

24 Peace’’, which sent the threat to Sony Pictures En25 tertainment, was a unit of North Korea’s Reconnais-
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1 sance General Bureau, its foreign intelligence serv2 ice. 

3 (10) Malaysian authorities have alleged that of4 ficials from North Korea’s secret police and Foreign 

5 Ministry were involved in the poisoning and killing 

6 of the estranged half-brother of the country’s leader, 

7 Kim Jong-nam, using the chemical weapon VX 

8 nerve agent, a substance banned for use as a weapon 

9 by the United Nations Chemical Weapons Conven10 tion, on February 13, 2017, in Kuala Lumpur. 

11 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

12 Congress that the Government of North Korea likely 

13 meets the criteria for designation as a state sponsor of 

14 terrorism and, if so should be so designated. 

15 (c) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 90 days after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

17 State shall submit to the appropriate congressional com18 mittees a determination as to whether the Government of 

19 North Korea meets the criteria for designation as a state 

20 sponsor of terrorism. 

21 (d) FORM.—The determination required by sub22 section (c) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but 

23 may include a classified annex, if appropriate. 

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 
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1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

5 the Senate; and 

6 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

7 the House of Representatives. 

8 (2) NORTH KOREA.—The term ‘‘North Korea’’ 

9 means the Government of the Democratic People’s 

10 Republic of Korea. 

11 (3) STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM.—The term 

12 ‘‘state sponsor of terrorism’’ means a country the 

13 government of which the Secretary of State has de14 termined, for purposes of section 6(j) of the Export 

15 Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 4605(j)) (as 

16 in effect pursuant to the International Emergency 

17 Economic Powers Act), section 620A of the Foreign 

18 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371), section 40 

19 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2780), 

20 or any other provision of law, is a government that 
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1 has repeatedly provided support for acts of inter2 national terrorism. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 3, 2017. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 479 

AN ACT 

To require a report on the designation of the 

sponsor of terrorism, and for other purposes. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as a state