I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1504 

To expedite the provision of humanitarian assistance, including life-saving 

medical care, to the people of North Korea, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 2, 2021 

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan (for himself, Ms. PRESSLEY, and Ms. OMAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Financial 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 expedite the provision of humanitarian assistance, including life-saving medical care, to the people of 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Enhancing North 

5 Korea Humanitarian Assistance Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) Providing humanitarian assistance, includ2 ing to countries subject to sanctions imposed by the 

3 United States, is an expression of American values 

4 that furthers United States interests around the 

5 world and is consistent with international humani6 tarian law. 

7 (2) As of February 2020, roughly 10,100,000 

8 people in North Korea are in urgent need of food as9 sistance and roughly 10,400,000 need nutrition sup10 port and improved access to basic services, including 

11 health care, water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities. 

12 (3) More than 40 percent of people in North 

13 Korea are undernourished, and 1 in 5 children in 

14 the country under the age of 5 is stunted in growth. 

(4) More than 1 15 ⁄3 of household drinking water 

16 in North Korea is contaminated. 

17 (5) Independent experts have identified severe 

18 deficiencies in North Korea’s public health infra19 structure, trained medical personnel, ability to com20 municate important safety information, and commit21 ment to addressing those deficiencies. 

22 (6) North Korea has one of the highest burdens 

23 of tuberculosis in the world and humanitarian assist24 ance is critical for countering the spread of deadly 

25 infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, 


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1 Hepatitis B, and the coronavirus disease 2019 (com2 monly known as ‘‘COVID–19’’). 

3 (7) North Korea cannot reliably maintain 

4 stocks of drugs to treat diseases such as tuberculosis 

5 and HIV/AIDS, posing the risk of interrupted treat6 ments, which can lead to treatment failures and de7 velopment of resistance to multiple therapies, mak8 ing treatment significantly more difficult and costly. 

9 (8) The spread of COVID–19 in North Korea 

10 is likely having devastating consequences for the 

11 people of that country who are especially vulnerable 

12 to a pandemic because of deficiencies in public 

13 health infrastructure. 

14 (9) The 2019 Global Health Security Index 

15 shows North Korea is the third least prepared coun16 try in the world to combat a health security crisis. 

17 (10) While the Government of North Korea has 

18 not reported any cases of COVID–19 in the country, 

19 the true extent and results of testing are unknown, 

20 and government officials have not historically been 

21 open or transparent about humanitarian emergencies 

22 facing the people of North Korea. 

23 (11) Responses to the COVID–19 crisis, includ24 ing border closings and quarantines have caused eco25 nomic shock and hampered international efforts that 


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1 would otherwise be providing life-saving support to 

2 the people of North Korea. 

3 (12) In its final report published on February 

4 7, 2020, the United Nations Panel of Experts on 

5 North Korea found that ‘‘United Nations agencies 

6 and humanitarian organizations continue to experi7 ence unintended consequences on their humanitarian 

8 programmes that make it impossible to operate nor9 mally in the Democratic People’s Republic of 

10 Korea.’’. 

11 (13) Barriers to humanitarian access can result 

12 from decisions made or delayed by the Government 

13 of North Korea, by the governments of other coun14 tries, including the governments of the United 

15 States and the People’s Republic of China, and by 

16 the Committee of the United Nations Security Coun17 cil established by United Nations Security Council 

18 Resolution 1718 (2006) (in this Act referred to as 

19 the ‘‘1718 Sanctions Committee’’). 

20 (14) Nongovernmental organizations that pro21 vide humanitarian assistance in North Korea must 

22 typically seek simultaneous authorizations from the 

23 Department of the Treasury, the Department of 

24 State, the Department of Commerce, the 1718 Sanc25 tions Committee, customs officials in the People’s 


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1 Republic of China, and the Government of North 

2 Korea, adding further delays to humanitarian ac3 cess. 

4 (15) The 1718 Sanctions Committee issued the 

5 document entitled ‘‘Implementation Assistance No6 tice No. 7’’ on August 6, 2018, to clarify the process 

7 for granting requests for humanitarian exemptions 

8 by the United Nations and to reaffirm that sanc9 tions are not intended to have adverse humanitarian 

10 consequences for civilians in North Korea, and this 

11 guidance was updated on December 1, 2020 to help 

12 streamline permissions for COVID–19-related aid 

13 and to extend humanitarian waivers from six to nine 

14 months. 

15 (16) United States Government travel restric16 tions impede the access of United States employees 

17 of humanitarian organizations inside North Korea 

18 and can complicate the monitoring and evaluation 

19 procedures that nongovernmental organizations have 

20 used to ensure that aid reaches the most vulnerable 

21 populations. 

22 (17) Humanitarian exceptions in comprehensive 

23 sanctions programs, such as the exceptions under 

24 section 510.512 of the North Korea Sanctions Regu25 lations, are not effective unless the persons who proVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1504.IH H1504

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1 vide assistance along with their financial institu2 tions, suppliers, shippers, and other entities can 

3 make practical use of the exceptions. 

4 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that— 

6 (1) the interagency review mandated by the 

7 President’s January 21, 2021 National Security 

8 Memorandum 1, offers an opportunity to make ap9 propriate adjustments to United States and multilat10 eral sanctions to ensure that such sanctions do not 

11 inadvertently hinder humanitarian access to the peo12 ple of North Korea; 

13 (2) national governments and multilateral au14 thorities must take action to mitigate documented 

15 delays and ensure that sanctions imposed with re16 spect to North Korea do not hinder efforts to pro17 vide humanitarian relief, including life-saving med18 ical care to combat COVID–19, to the people of 

19 North Korea; 

20 (3) the Department of the Treasury should pro21 vide timely and meaningful responses to requests for 

22 specific licenses given that humanitarian organiza23 tions typically have a limited time to execute 

24 projects that must be approved by multiple United 


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1 States Government agencies and foreign govern2 ments; 

3 (4) because humanitarian assistance is unlikely 

4 to enable large-scale sanctions evasion and revenue 

5 generation, sanctions enforcement should focus on 

6 ongoing North Korean activities, including ship-to7 ship transfers of coal and other goods, cyberattacks, 

8 and the use of forced labor abroad, all highlighted 

9 in reports issued by the United Nations Panel of Ex10 perts on North Korea and other authoritative 

11 sources; 

12 (5) financial institutions should recognize and 

13 consider the reputational and practical costs of im14 peding legitimate efforts to deliver life-saving aid to 

15 North Korea; and 

16 (6) the Department of State’s travel ban for 

17 humanitarian missions to North Korea is incon18 sistent with the intent of the North Korea Sanctions 

19 and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 (Public Law 

20 114–122), which explicitly exempts work related to 

21 the repatriation of United States veterans’ remains. 

22 SEC. 4. ENHANCING EXEMPTIONS FROM UNITED STATES 

23 SANCTIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

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1 ury, acting through the Director of the Office of Foreign 

2 Assets Control, shall take one or more of the following 

3 actions: 

4 (1) Modify the humanitarian exception under 

5 section 510.512 of the North Korea Sanctions Regu6 lations to cover, in addition to the food and medicine 

7 already exempted, goods and other items that are 

8 not subject to the Export Administration Regula9 tions and that support humanitarian projects to 

10 meet basic human needs in North Korea so that no 

11 specific license is required for such items. 

12 (2)(A) Modify the North Korea Sanctions Reg13 ulations to exempt from a requirement for a specific 

14 license a published list of nonsensitive items, in addi15 tion to the food and medicine already covered by sec16 tion 510.512 of the North Korea Sanctions Regula17 tions, used in humanitarian operations in North 

18 Korea in furtherance of the purposes set forth in 

19 section 4 of the North Korean Human Rights Act 

20 of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7802); 

21 (B) ensure that the list reflects the relevant 

22 recommendations included in the final report, pub23 lished on February 7, 2020, of the Panel of Experts 

24 established pursuant to United Nations Security 

25 Council Resolution 1874 (2009); and 


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1 (C) review and republish the list, in consulta2 tion with the Secretary of State and the Adminis3 trator of the United States Agency for International 

4 Development, every 180 days and in response to re5 quests by nongovernmental organizations that have 

6 previously engaged in authorized humanitarian ac7 tivities in North Korea. 

8 (3) Modify the North Korea Sanctions Regula9 tions so that— 

10 (A) a specific license from the Office of 

11 Foreign Assets Control of the Department of 

12 the Treasury is not required for partnerships 

13 and partnership agreements between non14 governmental organizations and persons owned 

15 or controlled by the Government of North 

16 Korea that are necessary for nongovernmental 

17 organizations to provide otherwise authorized 

18 services related to humanitarian activity in 

19 North Korea; and 

20 (B) a specific license is still required for 

21 any partnerships and partnership agreements 

22 with persons on the list of specially designated 

23 nationals and blocked persons maintained by 

24 the Office of Foreign Assets Control. 


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1 (b) BRIEFING.—Not later than 120 days after the 

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

3 Treasury shall provide to the appropriate congressional 

4 committees a briefing— 

5 (1) for each action described in subsection (a), 

6 describing whether the action was taken and pro7 viding a justification for the decision to take or not 

8 take the action; and 

9 (2) detailing the benefits and risks associated 

10 with establishing a category of recognized non11 governmental organizations that would be exempt 

12 from requirements for specific licenses related to 

13 dealings with the Government of North Korea or 

14 persons on the list of specially designated nationals 

15 and blocked persons maintained by the Office of 

16 Foreign Assets Control for purposes of transactions 

17 involving goods other than food or medicine to sup18 port authorized humanitarian activities in North 

19 Korea. 

20 (c) MODIFICATION TO NORTH KOREA SANCTIONS

21 REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of 

22 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury 

23 shall modify the North Korea Sanctions Regulations so 

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1 mental organizations are not considered to be ‘‘luxury 

2 goods’’. 

3 (d) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 120 days after the 

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

5 Treasury, acting through the Director of the Office of 

6 Foreign Assets Control, shall issue plainly worded guid7 ance intended for financial institutions, shipping compa8 nies, foreign customs officials, and others involved in 

9 transactions related to humanitarian assistance that— 

10 (1) clarifies the applicability of the humani11 tarian exception under the North Korea Sanctions 

12 Regulations; and 

13 (2) describes best practices for ensuring that 

14 activities are consistent with that exception. 

15 (e) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 120 

17 days thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury, acting 

18 through the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Con19 trol and in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall 

20 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re21 port that includes— 

22 (1) a list of specific licenses related to humani23 tarian assistance in North Korea issued by the Of24 fice of Foreign Assets Control in the 120 days pre25 ceding submission of the report; 


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1 (2) a list of requests for specific licenses related 

2 to humanitarian assistance in North Korea denied 

3 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control in the 120 

4 days preceding submission of the report, with expla5 nations for the denials; 

6 (3) a list of requests for specific licenses related 

7 to humanitarian assistance in North Korea that 

8 have been pending for 30 days or more as of the 

9 date of the report, with explanations for the delays; 

10 (4) a list of requests by persons who are not 

11 United States citizens, lawful permanent residents, 

12 or entities, for sanctions waivers related to humani13 tarian assistance in North Korea that have been 

14 pending for 30 days or more as of the date of the 

15 report, with explanations for the delays; and 

16 (5) a description of recent efforts to streamline 

17 the process by which nongovernmental organizations 

18 engaged in humanitarian activity in North Korea 

19 apply for and are granted specific licenses or waiv20 ers. 

21 SEC. 5. ENHANCING MULTILATERAL SANCTIONS EXEMP22 TIONS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall di24 rect the United States Permanent Representative to the 


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1 United Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the 

2 United States to urge the United Nations— 

3 (1) to extend the period for humanitarian ex4 emptions from the 1718 Sanctions Committee to 1 

5 year and remove the limitation on exemption appli6 cations per organization per year; and 

7 (2) to modify applications for humanitarian ex8 emptions from the 1718 Sanctions Committee to be 

9 less burdensome for nongovernmental organizations, 

10 drawing as appropriate on successes in approaches 

11 taken by other United Nations sanctions commit12 tees. 

13 (b) REPORTING.—Not later than 90 days after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days 

15 thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the ap16 propriate congressional committees a report— 

17 (1) describing any requests for humanitarian 

18 exemptions to the 1718 Sanctions Committee known 

19 to have been denied in the 180 days preceding sub20 mission of the report or known to have been in proc21 ess for more than 30 days as of the date of the re22 port, and any known explanations for such denials 

23 and delays; 

24 (2) detailing any action by a foreign govern25 ment in the 180 days preceding submission of the 


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1 report that has delayed or impeded humanitarian as2 sistance approved by the 1718 Sanctions Committee, 

3 including the status of obstacles to humanitarian as4 sistance posed by customs officials in the People’s 

5 Republic of China; and 

6 (3) describing efforts in the 180 days preceding 

7 submission of the report to establish or maintain an 

8 approved banking channel for transactions related to 

9 humanitarian assistance for North Korea. 

10 SEC. 6. STREAMLINING HUMANITARIAN TRAVEL AUTHOR11 IZATIONS. 

12 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact13 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall offer to pro14 vide to the appropriate congressional committees a brief15 ing— 

16 (1) detailing the benefits and risks associated 

17 with issuing a ‘‘multi-entry special validation pass18 port’’ to individuals employed by a nongovernmental 

19 organization and known to be engaged in authorized 

20 humanitarian activity in North Korea, with the pur21 pose of reducing costs and delays associated with re22 peated passport applications; 

23 (2) detailing plans to expand eligibility for spe24 cial validation to travel to North Korea with respect 

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1 mains from the Korean War or for appropriate peo2 ple-to-people exchange related to conflict reduction 

3 or family reunification; and 

4 (3) setting forth a strategy to otherwise expe5 dite and simplify the process to obtain a special 

6 travel permit to travel to North Korea on behalf of 

7 a humanitarian organization or to travel to North 

8 Korea using a United States passport to deliver or 

9 oversee humanitarian assistance. 

10 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT13 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com14 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations 

15 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

16 of the House of Representatives. 

17 (2) EXPORT ADMINISTRATION REGULATIONS.— 

18 The term ‘‘Export Administration Regulations’’ 

19 means the regulations set forth in subchapter C of 

20 chapter VII of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, 

21 or successor regulations. 

22 (3) NORTH KOREA SANCTIONS REGULATIONS.— 

23 The term ‘‘North Korea Sanctions Regulations’’ 

24 means the regulations set forth in part 510 of title 


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1 31, Code of Federal Regulations, or successor regu2 lations. 

Æ 


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