117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4216 

AN ACT 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 Rights Reauthorization Act of 2022’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) The North Korean Human Rights Act of 

7 2004 (Public Law 108–333; 22 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.) 

8 and subsequent reauthorizations of such Act were 

9 the product of broad, bipartisan consensus regarding 

10 the promotion of human rights, documentation of 

11 human rights violations, transparency in the delivery 

12 of humanitarian assistance, and the importance of 

13 refugee protection. 

14 (2) The human rights and humanitarian condi15 tions within North Korea remain deplorable and 

16 have been intentionally perpetuated against the peo17 ple of North Korea through policies endorsed and 

18 implemented by Kim Jong-un and the Workers’ 

19 Party of Korea. 

20 (3) According to a 2014 report released by the 

21 United Nations Human Rights Council’s Commis22 sion of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic 

23 People’s Republic of Korea, between 80,000 and 

24 120,000 children, women, and men were being held 

25 in political prison camps in North Korea, where they 

26 were subjected to deliberate starvation, forced labor, 
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1 executions, torture, rape, forced abortion, and infan2 ticide. 

3 (4) North Korea continues to hold a number of 

4 South Koreans and Japanese abducted after the 

5 signing of the Agreement Concerning a Military Ar6 mistice in Korea, signed at Panmunjom July 27, 

7 1953 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Korean War 

8 Armistice Agreement’’) and refuses to acknowledge 

9 the abduction of more than 100,000 South Koreans 

10 during the Korean War in violation of the Geneva 

11 Convention. 

12 (5) Human rights violations in North Korea, 

13 which include forced starvation, sexual violence 

14 against women and children, restrictions on freedom 

15 of movement, arbitrary detention, torture, execu16 tions, and enforced disappearances, amount to 

17 crimes against humanity according to the United 

18 Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in 

19 the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. 

20 (6) The effects of the COVID–19 pandemic and 

21 North Korea’s strict lockdown of its borders and 

22 crackdowns on informal market activities and small 

23 entrepreneurship have drastically increased food in24 security for its people and given rise to famine con25 ditions in parts of the country. 
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1 (7) North Korea’s COVID–19 border lockdown 

2 measures also include shoot-to-kill orders that have 

3 resulted in the killing of— 

4 (A) North Koreans attempting to cross the 

5 border; and 

6 (B) at least 1 South Korean citizen in Sep7 tember 2020. 

8 (8) The Chinese Communist Party and the 

9 Government of the People’s Republic of China are 

10 aiding and abetting in crimes against humanity by 

11 forcibly repatriating North Korean refugees to 

12 North Korea where they are sent to prison camps, 

13 harshly interrogated, and tortured or executed. 

14 (9) The forcible repatriation of North Korean 

15 refugees violates the People’s Republic of China’s 

16 freely undertaken obligation to uphold the principle 

17 of non-refoulement, under the Convention Relating 

18 to the Status of Refugees, done at Geneva July 28, 

19 1951 (and made applicable by the Protocol Relating 

20 to the Status of Refugees, done at New York Janu21 ary 31, 1967 (19 UST 6223)). 

22 (10) North Korea continues to bar freedom of 

23 religion and persecute religious minorities, especially 

24 Christians. Eyewitnesses report that Christians in 

25 North Korea have been tortured, forcibly detained, 
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1 and even executed for possessing a Bible or pro2 fessing Christianity. 

3 (11) United States and international broad4 casting operations into North Korea— 

5 (A) serve as a critical source of outside 

6 news and information for the North Korean 

7 people; and 

8 (B) provide a valuable service for coun9 tering regime propaganda and false narratives. 

10 (12) The position of Special Envoy on North 

11 Korean Human Rights Issues has been vacant since 

12 January 2017, even though the President is required 

13 to appoint a Senate-confirmed Special Envoy to fill 

14 this position in accordance with section 107 of the 

15 North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 

16 U.S.C. 7817). 

17 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that— 

19 (1) promoting information access in North 

20 Korea continues to be a successful method of coun21 tering North Korean propaganda; 

22 (2) the United States Government should con23 tinue to support efforts described in paragraph (1), 

24 including by enacting and implementing the Otto 

25 Warmbier North Korean Censorship and Surveil-
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1 lance Act of 2021, which was introduced by Senator 

2 Portman on June 17, 2021; 

3 (3) because refugees among North Koreans 

4 fleeing into China face severe punishments upon 

5 their forcible return, the United States should urge 

6 the Government of the People’s Republic of China— 

7 (A) to immediately halt its forcible repatri8 ation of North Koreans; 

9 (B) to allow the United Nations High 

10 Commissioner for Refugees (referred to in this 

11 section as ‘‘UNHCR’’) unimpeded access to 

12 North Koreans within China to determine 

13 whether they are refugees and require assist14 ance; 

15 (C) to fulfill its obligations under the Con16 vention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 

17 done at Geneva July 28, 1951 (and made appli18 cable by the Protocol Relating to the Status of 

19 Refugees, done at New York January 31, 1967 

20 (19 UST 6223) and the Agreement on the up21 grading of the UNHCR Mission in the People’s 

22 Republic of China to UNHCR branch office in 

23 the People’s Republic of China, done at Geneva 

24 December 1, 1995; 
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1 (D) to address the concerns of the United 

2 Nations Committee Against Torture by incor3 porating into domestic legislation the principle 

4 of non-refoulement; and 

5 (E) to recognize the legal status of North 

6 Korean women who marry or have children with 

7 Chinese citizens and ensure that all such moth8 ers and children are granted resident status 

9 and access to education and other public serv10 ices in accordance with Chinese law and inter11 national standards; 

12 (4) the United States Government should con13 tinue to promote the effective and transparent deliv14 ery and distribution of any humanitarian aid pro15 vided in North Korea to ensure that such aid 

16 reaches its intended recipients to the point of con17 sumption or utilization by cooperating closely with 

18 the Government of the Republic of Korea and inter19 national and nongovernmental organizations; 

20 (5) the Department of State should continue to 

21 take steps to increase public awareness about the 

22 risks and dangers of travel by United States citizens 

23 to North Korea, including by continuing its policy of 

24 blocking United States passports from being used to 
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1 travel to North Korea without a special validation 

2 from the Department of State; 

3 (6) the United Nations, which has a significant 

4 role to play in promoting and improving human 

5 rights in North Korea, should press for access for 

6 the United Nations Special Rapporteur and the 

7 United Nations High Commissioner for Human 

8 Rights on the situation of human rights in North 

9 Korea; 

10 (7) the Special Envoy for North Korean 

11 Human Rights Issues should be appointed without 

12 delay— 

13 (A) to properly promote and coordinate 

14 North Korean human rights and humanitarian 

15 issues; and 

16 (B) to participate in policy planning and 

17 implementation with respect to refugee issues; 

18 (8) the United States should urge North Korea 

19 to repeal the Reactionary Thought and Culture De20 nunciation Law and other draconian laws, regula21 tions, and decrees that manifestly violate the free22 dom of opinion and expression and the freedom of 

23 thought, conscience, and religion; 

24 (9) the United States should urge North Korea 

25 to ensure that any restrictions on addressing the 
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1 COVID–19 pandemic are necessary, proportionate, 

2 nondiscriminatory, time-bound, transparent, and 

3 allow international staff to operate inside the North 

4 Korea to provide international assistance based on 

5 independent needs assessments; 

6 (10) the United States should expand the Re7 wards for Justice program to be open to North Ko8 rean officials who can provide evidence of crimes 

9 against humanity being committed by North Korean 

10 officials; 

11 (11) the United States should continue to seek 

12 cooperation from all foreign governments— 

13 (A) to allow the UNHCR access to process 

14 North Korean refugees overseas for resettle15 ment; and 

16 (B) to allow United States officials access 

17 to process refugees for possible resettlement in 

18 the United States; and 

19 (12) the Secretary of State, through diplomacy 

20 by senior officials, including United States ambas21 sadors to Asia-Pacific countries, and in close co22 operation with South Korea, should make every ef23 fort to promote the protection of North Korean refu24 gees, escapees, and defectors. 
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1 SEC. 4. REAUTHORIZATIONS. 

2 (a) SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY

3 PROGRAMS.—Section 102(b)(1) of the North Korean 

4 Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7812(b)(1)) is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2027’’. 

6 (b) ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMA7 TION.—Section 104 of the North Korean Human Rights 

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

9 (1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘2022’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘2027’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘2022’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘2027’’. 

13 (c) REPORT BY SPECIAL ENVOY ON NORTH KOREAN

14 HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES.—Section 107(d) of the North 

15 Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817(d)) 

16 is amended by striking ‘‘2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2027’’. 

17 (d) REPORT ON UNITED STATES HUMANITARIAN AS18 SISTANCE.—Section 201(a) of the North Korean Human 

19 Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7831(a)) is amended, in 

20 the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2022’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘2027’’. 

22 (e) ASSISTANCE PROVIDED OUTSIDE OF NORTH

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

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

25 by striking ‘‘2018 through 2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2023 

26 through 2027’’. 
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1 (f) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Section 305(a) of the North 

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

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

4 striking ‘‘2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2027’’. 

5 SEC. 5. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMA6 TION. 

7 Title I of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 

8 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7811 et seq.) is amended— 

9 (1) in section 103(a), by striking ‘‘Broadcasting 

10 Board of Governors’’ and inserting ‘‘United States 

11 Agency for Global Media’’; and 

12 (2) in section 104(a)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘Broadcasting Board of 

14 Governors’’ each place such term appears and 

15 inserting ‘‘United States Agency for Global 

16 Media’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (7)(B)— 

18 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

19 by striking ‘‘5 years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 

20 years’’; 

21 (ii) by redesignating clauses (i) 

22 through (iii) as clauses (ii) through (iv), 

23 respectively; 

24 (iii) by inserting before clause (ii) the 

25 following: 
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1 ‘‘(i) an update of the plan required 

2 under subparagraph (A);’’; and 

3 (iv) in clause (iii), as redesignated, by 

4 striking ‘‘pursuant to section 403’’ and in5 serting ‘‘to carry out this section’’. 

6 SEC. 6. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR NORTH KOREAN HUMAN 

7 RIGHTS ISSUES. 

8 Section 107 of the North Korean Human Rights Act 

9 of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817) is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 

11 ‘‘(e) REPORT ON APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL

12 ENVOY.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the 

13 enactment of this subsection and annually thereafter 

14 through 2027 if the position of Special Envoy remains va15 cant, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the 

16 appropriate congressional committees that describes the 

17 efforts being taken to appoint the Special Envoy.’’. 

18 SEC. 7. SUPPORT FOR NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State and the 

20 Secretary of Homeland Security should collaborate with 

21 faith-based and Korean-American organizations to resettle 

22 North Korean participants in the United States Refugee 

23 Admissions Program in areas with existing Korean-Amer24 ican communities to mitigate trauma and mental health 

25 considerations of refugees, as appropriate. 
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1 (b) RESETTLEMENT LOCATION ASSISTANCE EDU2 CATION.—The Secretary of State shall publicly dissemi3 nate guidelines and information relating to resettlement 

4 options in the United States or South Korea for eligible 

5 North Korean refugees, with a particular focus on mes6 saging to North Koreans. 

7 (c) MECHANISMS.—The guidelines and information 

8 described in subsection (b)— 

9 (1) shall be published on a publicly available 

10 website of the Department of State; 

11 (2) shall be broadcast into North Korea 

12 through radio broadcasting operations funded or 

13 supported by the United States Government; and 

14 (3) shall be distributed through brochures or 

15 electronic storage devices. 

16 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF SANCTIONS FOR FORCED RE17 PATRIATION OF NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES. 

18 (a) DISCRETIONARY DESIGNATIONS.—Section 

19 104(b)(1) of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy En20 hancement Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9214) is amended— 

21 (1) in subparagraph (M), by striking ‘‘or’’ after 

22 the semicolon; 

23 (2) in subparagraph (N), by striking the period 

24 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

25 (3) by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(O) knowingly, directly or indirectly, 

2 forced the repatriation of North Korean refu3 gees to North Korea.’’. 

4 (b) EXEMPTIONS.—Section 208(a)(1) of the North 

5 Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 (22 

6 U.S.C. 9228(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, the Repub7 lic of Korea, and Japan’’ before the period at the end. 

8 SEC. 9. REPORT ON HUMANITARIAN EXEMPTIONS TO SANC9 TIONS IMPOSED WITH RESPECT TO NORTH 

10 KOREA. 

11 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con12 gress that— 

13 (1) the continued pursuit by the North Korean 

14 regime of weapons of mass destruction (including 

15 nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons), in addi16 tion to its ballistic missile program, along with the 

17 regime’s gross violations of human rights, have led 

18 the international community to impose sanctions 

19 with respect to North Korea, including sanctions im20 posed by the United Nations Security Council; 

21 (2) authorities should grant exemptions for hu22 manitarian assistance to the people of North Korea 

23 consistent with past United Nations Security Coun24 cil resolutions; and 
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1 (3) humanitarian assistance intended to provide 

2 humanitarian relief to the people of North Korea 

3 must not be exploited or misdirected by the North 

4 Korean regime to benefit the military or elites of 

5 North Korea. 

6 (b) REPORTS REQUIRED.— 

7 (1) DEFINED TERM.—In this subsection, the 

8 term ‘‘covered period’’ means— 

9 (A) in the case of the first report required 

10 to be submitted under paragraph (2), the pe11 riod beginning on January 1, 2018, and ending 

12 on the date that is 90 days after the date of the 

13 enactment of this Act; and 

14 (B) in the case of each subsequent report 

15 required to be submitted under paragraph (2), 

16 the 1-year period preceding the date by which 

17 the report is required to be submitted. 

18 (2) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an20 nually thereafter for the following 2 years, the Sec21 retary of State shall submit a report to Congress 

22 that— 

23 (A) describes— 

24 (i) how the North Korean regime has 

25 previously exploited humanitarian assist-
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1 ance from the international community to 

2 benefit elites and the military in North 

3 Korea; 

4 (ii) the most effective methods to pro5 vide humanitarian relief, including mecha6 nisms to facilitate humanitarian assistance, 

7 to the people of North Korea, who are in 

8 dire need of such assistance; 

9 (iii) any requests to the Committee of 

10 the United Nations Security Council estab11 lished by United Nations Security Council 

12 Resolution 1718 (2006) (referred to in this 

13 section as the ‘‘1718 Sanctions Com14 mittee’’) for humanitarian exemptions from 

15 sanctions known to have been denied dur16 ing the covered period or known to have 

17 been in process for more than 30 days as 

18 of the date of the report; and 

19 (iv) any known explanations for the 

20 denials and delays referred to in clause 

21 (iii); and 

22 (B) details any action by a foreign govern23 ment during the covered period that has de24 layed or impeded humanitarian assistance that 
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1 was approved by the 1718 Sanctions Com2 mittee. 

Passed the Senate December 8, 2022. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4216 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights 

Act of 2004, and for other purposes.