I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2231 

To establish a joint commission on North Korea, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 28, 2017 

Ms. DELBENE (for herself, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. PETERS, and Mrs. MURPHY

of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed 

Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a joint commission on North Korea, 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. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find5 ings: 

6 (1) Preventing North Korea from proliferating 

7 illegal nuclear weapons and related material is a top 

8 priority for the United States and regional partners, 

9 including Japan, China, and South Korea. 


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1 (2) Presidential transitions in Washington, DC, 

2 and Seoul, South Korea, create opportunities for in3 stability that North Korea could exploit for addi4 tional provocations. 

5 (3) North Korea is already violating the letter 

6 and spirit of numerous United Nations Security 

7 Council resolutions. 

8 (4) North Korea allegedly test-fired a ballistic 

9 missile on February 11, 2017. 

10 (5) Strengthening high-level dialogue about 

11 North Korean nuclear proliferation between the 

12 United States, regional partners, and the United 

13 Nations would bring necessary attention to the 

14 issue, which has languished over successive Repub15 lican and Democratic Administrations. 

16 (6) The United States would benefit from a 

17 comprehensive strategy, jointly implemented with its 

18 regional partners, including China, to prevent North 

19 Korea from becoming armed with nuclear weapons 

20 and strengthen the shared goal of achieving a 

21 denuclearized Korean Peninsula. 

22 (7) In addition to supporting the work of the 

23 United Nations Panel of Experts on North Korea, 

24 the United States and its partners would benefit 

25 from a senior-level dialogue to coordinate sanctions 


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1 enforcement, to detect North Korea proliferation ac2 tivities, and to prepare contingency responses in the 

3 event of North Korean nuclear or conventional 

4 provocations. 

5 (8) The United States, along with its allies and 

6 partners, have highly capable military and nuclear 

7 experts who can refine plans to respond to a North 

8 Korea capability development that endangers the 

9 United States homeland and could recommend de10 fensive measures to address vulnerabilities. 

11 (9) The trilateral relationship between the 

12 United States, Japan, and South Korea has served 

13 as an important node for sharing information about 

14 the North Korean threat and the trilateral relation15 ship should be expanded to serve as a focal point for 

16 regional cooperation regarding North Korea. 

17 (10) Generally, it is in the interest of the 

18 United States to remain the security partner of 

19 choice for allies and partners in the Indo-Asia Pa20 cific region and to strengthen norms based on the 

21 liberal international order that has undergirded 

22 peace and stability in the region since the end of 

23 World War II. 

24 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con25 gress that the United States should expand the trilateral 


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1 mechanism to serve as a focal point for regional coopera2 tion regarding North Korea. 

3 SEC. 2. JOINT COMMISSION ON NORTH KOREA. 

4 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The President, acting through 

5 the Secretary of State, may seek to establish a joint com6 mission with countries in the Indo-Asia Pacific region 

7 (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘the Commission’’). 

8 (b) ACTIVITIES.—The Commission may undertake 

9 the following activities: 

10 (1) Supporting professional dialogues, including 

11 by convening or sponsoring travel to meetings with 

12 nongovernmental experts, to— 

13 (A) coordinate the detection of North Ko14 rean violations of existing United Nations Secu15 rity Council resolutions; 

16 (B) develop possible responses to such vio17 lations; and 

18 (C) enhance monitoring of nuclear weapons 

19 proliferation capabilities. 

20 (2) Coordinating sub-cabinet-level political dis21 cussions on contingency responses to North Korean 

22 violations of United Nations Security Council resolu23 tions. 

24 (3) Facilitating technical discussions among the 

25 Departments of State, Defense, Energy, and the 


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1 Treasury and the Intelligence Community and their 

2 counterparts in countries in the Indo-Asia Pacific re3 gion on technical aspects of North Korea’s nuclear 

4 program and accompanying United States sanctions. 

5 (4) Coordinating the sharing of information 

6 among the intelligence services of the countries par7 ticipating in the Commission, to the extent prac8 ticable, to identify immediate threats and inform the 

9 security services of such countries. 

10 (5) Creating guidelines for the coordination of 

11 multilateral direct action against shared threats. 

12 (c) CHAIR; MEMBERSHIP.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 

14 chaired by the Secretary of State and shall include 

15 as members— 

16 (A) the Secretary of the Treasury; 

17 (B) the Secretary of Energy; 

18 (C) the Secretary of Defense; and 

19 (D) the Director of National Intelligence. 

20 (2) COUNTERPART MEMBERS.—The Secretary 

21 of State shall encourage participation of relevant 

22 counterparts in the governments of the participating 

23 countries. 


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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec3 essary to carry out the activities of the Commission. 

4 SEC. 3. COORDINATION OF MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC 

5 PLANNING. 

6 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

7 United States— 

8 (1) to continue to maintain robust and multi9 faceted diplomatic engagement in the Indo-Asia Pa10 cific region, to include the promotion of United 

11 States values and United States economic interests 

12 alongside a strong United States military posture; 

13 and 

14 (2) that the tools of diplomacy and develop15 ment, along with defense as critical tools of national 

16 power, should be used to enhance the national secu17 rity of the United States, promote United States in18 terests reassure United States allies, deter aggres19 sion, and respond swiftly to crises. 

20 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that the Secretary of State should conduct com22 prehensive regional and global diplomacy, in close coordi23 nation with United States allies in the Indo Asia Pacific 

24 Region, to coordinate responses to North Korean provoVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 May 03, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2231.IH H2231

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1 cations and enhance enforcement of United Nations Secu2 rity Council resolutions. 

3 (c) ENHANCED PORTS OF CALL.—The Secretary of 

4 Defense is authorized, in consultation with Secretary of 

5 State, to conduct routine and enhanced ports of call with 

6 key allies in the Indo-Asia Pacific region. 

Æ 


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