I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4011

To promote human rights and freedom in the Democratic People’s Republic 

of Korea, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 23, 2004

Mr. LEACH (for himself, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. COX, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. 

SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. ACKERMAN, and 

Mr. CHABOT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committee 

on the Judiciary, 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 promote human rights and freedom in the Democratic 

People’s Republic of 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 ‘‘North Korean Human 

5 Rights Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
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Sec. 3. Findings. 

Sec. 4. Purposes. 

Sec. 5. Definitions. 

TITLE I—PROMOTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF NORTH KOREANS 

Sec. 101. Sense of congress regarding negotiations with North Korea. 

Sec. 102. Support for human rights and democracy programs. 

Sec. 103. Radio broadcasting to North Korea. 

Sec. 104. Actions to promote freedom of information. 

Sec. 105. United Nations Commission on Human Rights. 

TITLE II—ASSISTING NORTH KOREANS IN NEED 

Sec. 201. Report on United States humanitarian assistance. 

Sec. 202. Assistance provided inside North Korea. 

Sec. 203. Assistance provided outside of North Korea. 

TITLE III—PROTECTING NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES 

Sec. 301. United States policy toward refugees and defectors. 

Sec. 302. Eligibility for refugee or asylum consideration. 

Sec. 303. Refugee status. 

Sec. 304. Pursuit of first asylum policy. 

Sec. 305. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 

Sec. 306. Humanitarian parole. 

Sec. 307. North Korean status adjustment. 

Sec. 308. Temporary protected status. 

Sec. 309. Right to accept employment. 

Sec. 310. Annual reports.

1 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) According to the Department of State, the 

4 Government of North Korea is ‘‘a dictatorship under 

5 the absolute rule of Kim Jong Il’’ that continues to 

6 commit numerous, serious human rights abuses. 

7 (2) The Government of North Korea attempts 

8 to control all information, artistic expression, aca9 demic works, and media activity inside North Korea 

10 and strictly curtails freedom of speech and access to 

11 foreign broadcasts. 
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1 (3) The Government of North Korea subjects 

2 all its citizens to systematic, intensive political and 

3 ideological indoctrination in support of the cult of 

4 personality glorifying Kim Jong Il and the late Kim 

5 Il Sung that approaches the level of a state religion. 

6 (4) The Government of North Korea divides its 

7 population into categories, based on perceived loyalty 

8 to the leadership, which determines access to em9 ployment, higher education, place of residence, med10 ical facilities, and other resources. 

11 (5) According to the Department of State, 

12 ‘‘[t]he [North Korean] Penal Code is [d]raconian, 

13 stipulating capital punishment and confiscation of 

14 assets for a wide variety of ‘crimes against the revo15 lution,’ including defection, attempted defection, 

16 slander of the policies of the Party or State, listen17 ing to foreign broadcasts, writing ‘reactionary’ let18 ters, and possessing reactionary printed matter’’. 

19 (6) The Government of North Korea executes 

20 political prisoners, opponents of the regime, some re21 patriated defectors, some members of underground 

22 churches, and others, sometimes at public meetings 

23 attended by workers, students, and schoolchildren. 

24 (7) The Government of North Korea holds an 

25 estimated 200,000 political prisoners in camps that 
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1 its State Security Agency manages through the use 

2 of forced labor, beatings, torture, and executions, 

3 and in which many prisoners also die from disease, 

4 starvation, and exposure. 

5 (8) According to eyewitness testimony provided 

6 to the United States Congress by North Korean 

7 camp survivors, camp inmates have been used as 

8 sources of slave labor for the production of export 

9 goods, as targets for martial arts practice, and as 

10 experimental victims in the testing of chemical and 

11 biological poisons. 

12 (9) According to credible reports, including eye13 witness testimony provided to the United States 

14 Congress, North Korean Government officials pro15 hibit live births in prison camps, and forced abortion 

16 and the killing of newborn babies are standard pris17 on practices. 

18 (10) According to the Department of State, 

19 ‘‘[g]enuine religious freedom does not exist in North 

20 Korea’’ and, according to the United States Com21 mission on International Religious Freedom, ‘‘[t]he 

22 North Korean state severely represses public and 

23 private religious activities’’ with penalties that re24 portedly include arrest, imprisonment, torture, and 

25 sometimes execution. 
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1 (11) More than 2,000,000 North Koreans are 

2 estimated to have died of starvation since the early 

3 1990s because of the failure of the centralized agri4 cultural and public distribution systems operated by 

5 the Government of North Korea. 

6 (12) According to a 2002 United Nations-Euro7 pean Union survey, nearly one out of every ten chil8 dren in North Korea suffers from acute malnutrition 

9 and four out of every ten children in North Korea 

10 are chronically malnourished. 

11 (13) Since 1995, the United States has pro12 vided more than 2,000,000 tons of humanitarian 

13 food assistance to the people of North Korea, pri14 marily through the World Food Program. 

15 (14) Although United States food assistance 

16 has undoubtedly saved many North Korean lives and 

17 there have been minor improvements in transparency 

18 relating to the distribution of such assistance in 

19 North Korea, the Government of North Korea con20 tinues to deny the World Food Program forms of ac21 cess necessary to properly monitor the delivery of 

22 food aid, including the ability to conduct random site 

23 visits, the use of native Korean-speaking employees, 

24 and travel access throughout North Korea. 
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1 (15) The risk of starvation, the threat of perse2 cution, and the lack of freedom and opportunity in 

3 North Korea have caused many thousands, perhaps 

4 even hundreds of thousands, of North Koreans to 

5 flee their homeland, primarily into China. 

6 (16) North Korean women and girls, particu7 larly those who have fled into China, are at risk of 

8 being kidnapped, trafficked, and sexually exploited 

9 inside China, where many are sold as brides or con10 cubines, or forced to work as prostitutes. 

11 (17) The Governments of China and North 

12 Korea have been conducting aggressive campaigns to 

13 locate North Koreans who are in China without per14 mission and to forcibly return them to North Korea, 

15 where they routinely face torture and imprisonment, 

16 and sometimes execution. 

17 (18) Despite China’s obligations as a party to 

18 the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the 

19 Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating 

20 to the Status of Refugees China routinely classifies 

21 North Koreans seeking asylum in China as mere 

22 ‘‘economic migrants’’ and returns them to North 

23 Korea without regard to the serious threat of perse24 cution they face upon their return. 
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1 (19) The Government of China does not provide 

2 North Koreans whose asylum requests are rejected 

3 a right to have the rejection reviewed prior to depor4 tation despite the recommendations of the 1951 

5 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of 

6 Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Sta7 tus of Refugees that such a right be granted. 

8 (20) North Koreans who seek asylum while in 

9 China are routinely imprisoned and tortured, and in 

10 some cases killed, after they are returned to North 

11 Korea. 

12 (21) The Government of China has detained, 

13 convicted, and imprisoned foreign aid workers at14 tempting to assist North Korean refugees, including 

15 the Reverend Choi Bong Il and Mr. Kim Hee Tae, 

16 in proceedings that did not comply with Chinese law 

17 or international standards. 

18 (22) In January 2000, North Korean agents in19 side China allegedly abducted the Reverend Kim 

20 Dong-shik, a United States permanent resident and 

21 advocate for North Korean refugees, whose condition 

22 and whereabouts remain unknown. 

23 (23) Between 1994 and 2003, South Korea has 

24 admitted approximately 3,800 North Korean refu25 gees for domestic resettlement, a number small in 
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1 comparison with the total number of North Korean 

2 escapees, but far greater than the number legally 

3 admitted by any other country. 

4 (24) Although the principal responsibility for 

5 North Korean refugee resettlement naturally falls to 

6 the Government of South Korea, the United States 

7 should play a leadership role in focusing inter8 national attention on the plight of these refugees, 

9 formulating international solutions to that profound 

10 humanitarian dilemma, and making prudent ar11 rangements to accept a credible number of refugees 

12 for domestic resettlement. 

13 (25) In addition to infringing the rights of its 

14 own citizens, the Government of North Korea has 

15 been responsible in years past for the abduction of 

16 numerous citizens of South Korea and Japan, whose 

17 condition and whereabouts remain unknown. 

18 SEC. 4. PURPOSES. 

19 The purposes of this Act are—

20 (1) to promote respect for and protection of 

21 fundamental human rights in North Korea; 

22 (2) to promote a more durable humanitarian so23 lution to the plight of North Korean refugees; 
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1 (3) to promote increased monitoring, access, 

2 and transparency in the provision of humanitarian 

3 assistance inside North Korea; 

4 (4) to promote the free flow of information into 

5 and out of North Korea; and 

6 (4) to promote progress toward the peaceful re7 unification of the Korean peninsula under a demo8 cratic system of government. 

9 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT12 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com13 mittees’’ means—

14 (A) the Committee on International Rela15 tions of the House of Representatives; and 

16 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

17 the Senate. 

18 (2) CHINA.—The term ‘‘China’’ means the Peo19 ple’s Republic of China. 

20 (3) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.—The term 

21 ‘‘humanitarian assistance’’ means assistance to meet 

22 humanitarian needs, including needs for food, medi23 cine, medical supplies, clothing, and shelter. 

24 (4) NORTH KOREA.—The term ‘‘North Korea’’ 

25 means the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. 
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1 (5) NORTH KOREANS.—The term ‘‘North Kore2 ans’’ means persons who are citizens or nationals of 

3 North Korea. 

4 (6) SOUTH KOREA.—The term ‘‘South Korea’’ 

5 means the Republic of Korea. 

6 TITLE I—PROMOTING THE 

7 HUMAN RIGHTS OF NORTH 

8 KOREANS 

9 SEC. 101. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NEGOTIATIONS 

10 WITH NORTH KOREA. 

11 It is the sense of Congress that the human rights of 

12 North Koreans should remain a key concern in future ne13 gotiations between the United States, North Korea, and 

14 other concerned parties in Northeast Asia. 

15 SEC. 102. SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY 

16 PROGRAMS. 

17 (a) SUPPORT.—The President is authorized to pro18 vide grants to private, nonprofit organizations to support 

19 programs that promote human rights, democracy, rule of 

20 law, and the development of a market economy in North 

21 Korea. 

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

24 appropriated to the President $2,000,000 for each of 
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1 the fiscal years 2005 through 2008 to carry out this 

2 section. 

3 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur4 suant to the authorization of appropriations under 

5 paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available 

6 until expended. 

7 SEC. 103. RADIO BROADCASTING TO NORTH KOREA. 

8 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that the United States should facilitate the 

10 unhindered dissemination of information in North Korea 

11 by increasing its support for radio broadcasting to North 

12 Korea, and that the Broadcasting Board of Governors 

13 should increase broadcasts to North Korea from current 

14 levels, with a goal of providing 12-hour-per-day broad15 casting to North Korea, including broadcasts by Radio 

16 Free Asia and Voice of America. 

17 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act, the Broadcasting Board of 

19 Governors shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

20 committees a report that—

21 (1) describes the status of current United 

22 States broadcasting to North Korea; and 

23 (2) outlines a plan for increasing such broad24 casts to 12 hours per day, including a detailed de-
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1 scription of the technical and fiscal requirements 

2 necessary to implement the plan. 

3 SEC. 104. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMA4 TION. 

5 (a) ACTIONS.—The President is authorized to take 

6 such actions as may be necessary to increase the avail7 ability of information inside North Korea by increasing 

8 the availability of sources of information not controlled by 

9 the Government of North Korea, including sources such 

10 as radios capable of receiving broadcasting from outside 

11 North Korea. 

12 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

14 appropriated to the President $2,000,000 for each of 

15 the fiscal years 2005 through 2008 to carry out sub16 section (a). 

17 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur18 suant to the authorization of appropriations under 

19 paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available 

20 until expended. 

21 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act, and in each of the 3 years 

23 thereafter, the Secretary of State, after consultation with 

24 the heads of other appropriate Federal departments and 

25 agencies, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
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1 committees a report, in classified form, on actions taken 

2 pursuant to this section. 

3 SEC. 105. UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON HUMAN 

4 RIGHTS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that the United Nations 

6 has a significant role to play in promoting and improving 

7 human rights in North Korea, that the adoption by the 

8 United Nations Commission on Human Rights of Resolu9 tion 2003/10 on the situation of human rights in North 

10 Korea was a positive step, and that the severe human 

11 rights violations within North Korea warrant—

12 (1) an additional country-specific resolution by 

13 the United Nations Commission on Human Rights 

14 that includes the language necessary to authorize 

15 the appointment of a Special Rapporteur of the 

16 United Nations Commission on Human Rights on 

17 the situation of human rights in North Korea; and 

18 (2) country-specific attention and reporting by 

19 the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary 

20 Detention, the Working Group on Enforced and In21 voluntary Disappearances, the Special Rapporteur 

22 on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions, 

23 the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, the 

24 Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection 

25 of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, 
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1 the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or 

2 Belief, and the Special Rapporteur on Violence 

3 Against Women. 

4 TITLE II—ASSISTING NORTH 

5 KOREANS IN NEED 

6 SEC. 201. REPORT ON UNITED STATES HUMANITARIAN AS7 SISTANCE. 

8 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act, and in each of the 2 years 

10 thereafter, the Administrator of the United States Agency 

11 for International Development, in conjunction with the 

12 Secretary of State, shall submit to the appropriate con13 gressional committees a report that describes—

14 (1) all activities to provide humanitarian assist15 ance inside North Korea, and to North Koreans out16 side of North Korea, that receive United States 

17 funding; 

18 (2) any improvements in humanitarian trans19 parency, monitoring, and access inside North Korea 

20 during the previous 1-year period, including progress 

21 toward meeting the conditions identified in para22 graphs (1) through (4) of section 202(b); and 

23 (3) specific efforts to secure improved humani24 tarian transparency, monitoring, and access inside 

25 North Korea made by the United States and United 
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1 States grantees, including the World Food Program, 

2 during the previous 1-year period. 

3 (b) FORM.—The information required by subsection 

4 (a)(1) may be provided in classified form if necessary. 

5 SEC. 202. ASSISTANCE PROVIDED INSIDE NORTH KOREA. 

6 (a) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE THROUGH NON7 GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.—

8 (1) ASSISTANCE.—The President is authorized 

9 to provide assistance, including in the form of 

10 grants, to the World Food Program and to United 

11 States nongovernmental organizations for the pur12 pose of providing humanitarian assistance to North 

13 Koreans inside North Korea. 

14 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

15 Congress that significant increases above current 

16 levels of United States support for humanitarian as17 sistance provided inside North Korea should be con18 ditioned upon substantial improvements in trans19 parency, monitoring, and access to vulnerable popu20 lations throughout North Korea, and that significant 

21 improvements in those areas therefore would be re22 quired to justify appropriation and obligation of the 

23 full amounts authorized to be appropriated by this 

24 subsection. 

25 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to 

2 be appropriated to the President not less than 

3 $100,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005 

4 through 2008 to carry out this subsection. 

5 (B) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appro6 priated pursuant to the authorization of appro7 priations under subparagraph (A) are author8 ized to remain available until expended. 

9 (b) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE GOVERN10 MENT OF NORTH KOREA.—No department, agency, or en11 tity of the United States Government may provide human12 itarian assistance to any department, agency, or entity of 

13 the Government of North Korea unless such United States 

14 Government department, agency, or entity certifies in 

15 writing to the appropriate congressional committees that 

16 the Government of North Korea has taken steps to ensure 

17 that—

18 (1) such assistance is delivered, distributed, and 

19 monitored according to internationally recognized 

20 humanitarian standards; 

21 (2) such assistance is provided on a needs basis, 

22 and is not used as a political reward or tool of coer23 cion; 
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1 (3) such assistance reaches the intended bene2 ficiaries, who are informed of the source of the as3 sistance; and 

4 (4) humanitarian access to all vulnerable 

5 groups in North Korea is allowed, no matter where 

6 in the country they may be located. 

7 (c) NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE GOV8 ERNMENT OF NORTH KOREA.—No department, agency, 

9 or entity of the United States Government may provide 

10 nonhumanitarian assistance to any department, agency, or 

11 entity of the Government of North Korea unless such 

12 United States Government department, agency, or entity 

13 certifies in writing to the appropriate congressional com14 mittees that the Government of North Korea has made 

15 substantial progress toward—

16 (1) respecting and protecting basic human 

17 rights, including freedom of religion, of the people of 

18 North Korea; 

19 (2) providing for significant family reunification 

20 between North Koreans and their descendants and 

21 relatives in the United States; 

22 (3) fully disclosing all information regarding 

23 citizens of Japan and the Republic of Korea ab24 ducted by the Government of North Korea; 
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1 (4) allowing such abductees, along with their 

2 families, complete and genuine freedom to leave 

3 North Korea and return to the abductees original 

4 home countries; 

5 (5) significantly reforming its prison and labor 

6 camp system, and subjecting such reforms to inde7 pendent international monitoring; and 

8 (6) decriminalizing political expression and ac9 tivity. 

10 (d) WAIVER.—The President may waive the prohibi11 tion contained in subsection (b) or (c) if the President de12 termines that it is in the national security interest of the 

13 United States to do so. Prior to exercising the waiver au14 thority contained in the preceding sentence, the President 

15 shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees 

16 a report that contains the determination of the President 

17 pursuant to the preceding sentence and a description of 

18 the assistance to be provided. 

19 SEC. 203. ASSISTANCE PROVIDED OUTSIDE OF NORTH 

20 KOREA. 

21 (a) ASSISTANCE.—The President is authorized to 

22 provide assistance to support organizations or persons 

23 that provide humanitarian assistance or legal assistance 

24 to North Koreans who are outside of North Korea without 

25 the permission of the Government of North Korea. 
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1 (b) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance provided 

2 under subsection (a) should be used to provide—

3 (1) humanitarian assistance to North Korean 

4 refugees, defectors, migrants, and orphans outside of 

5 North Korea, which may include support for refugee 

6 camps or temporary settlements; 

7 (2) legal assistance to North Koreans who are 

8 seeking to apply for refugee status, asylum, parole, 

9 or other similar forms of protection and resettle10 ment; and 

11 (3) humanitarian assistance and legal assist12 ance to North Korean women outside of North 

13 Korea who are victims of trafficking, as defined in 

14 section 103(14) of the Trafficking Victims Protec15 tion Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(14)), or are in 

16 danger of being trafficked. 

17 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to funds other19 wise available for such purposes, there are author20 ized to be appropriated to the President 

21 $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005 

22 through 2008 to carry out this section. 

23 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur24 suant to subsection (a) are authorized to remain 

25 available until expended. 
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1 TITLE III—PROTECTING NORTH 

2 KOREAN REFUGEES 

3 SEC. 301. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD REFUGEES AND 

4 DEFECTORS. 

5 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 

6 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 

7 cooperation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 

8 Director of Central Intelligence, and the heads of other 

9 appropriate Federal departments and agencies, shall sub10 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 

11 in unclassified form that describes the situation of North 

12 Korean refugees and explains United States Government 

13 policy toward North Korean refugees and defectors. 

14 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include—

15 (1) information on North Koreans currently 

16 outside of North Korea without permission (includ17 ing refugees, defectors, and migrants), such as their 

18 estimated numbers and the countries and regions in 

19 which they are currently residing; 

20 (2) an assessment of the circumstances facing 

21 North Korean refugees and migrants in hiding, par22 ticularly in China, and of the circumstances they 

23 face when forcibly returned to North Korea; 

24 (3) an assessment of whether North Koreans in 

25 China have effective access to personnel of the 
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1 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 

2 and of whether the Government of China is fulfilling 

3 its obligations under the 1951 Convention Relating 

4 to the Status of Refugees, particularly Articles 31, 

5 32, and 33 of such Convention; 

6 (4) an assessment of whether North Koreans 

7 presently have effective access to United States ref8 ugee and asylum processing, and of United States 

9 policy toward North Koreans who may present 

10 themselves at United States embassies or consulates 

11 and request protection as refugees or asylum seekers 

12 and resettlement in the United States; 

13 (5) the total number of North Koreans who 

14 have been admitted into the United States as refu15 gees or asylees in each of the past five years; and 

16 (6) an estimate of the number of North Kore17 ans with family connections to United States citi18 zens. 

19 SEC. 302. ELIGIBILITY FOR REFUGEE OR ASYLUM CONSID20 ERATION. 

21 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en22 sure that North Koreans are not barred from eligibility 

23 for refugee status or asylum in the United States on ac24 count of any legal right to citizenship they may enjoy 

25 under the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. It is not 
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1 intended in any way to prejudice whatever rights to citi2 zenship North Koreans may enjoy under the Constitution 

3 of the Republic of Korea. 

4 (b) TREATMENT OF NATIONALS OF NORTH

5 KOREA.—For purposes of eligibility for refugee status 

6 under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

7 (8 U.S.C. 1157), or for asylum under section 208 of such 

8 Act (8 U.S.C. 1158), a national of the Democratic Peo9 ple’s Republic of Korea shall not be considered a national 

10 of the Republic of Korea. 

11 SEC. 303. REFUGEE STATUS. 

12 The Secretary of State shall designate natives or citi13 zens of North Korea who apply for refugee status under 

14 section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

15 U.S.C. 1157), and who are former political prisoners, 

16 members of persecuted religious groups, forced-labor 

17 conscripts, victims of debilitating malnutrition, persons 

18 deprived of professional credentials or subjected to other 

19 disproportionately harsh or discriminatory treatment re20 sulting from their perceived or actual political or religious 

21 beliefs or activities, or others who appear to have a cred22 ible claim of other persecution, as a Priority 2 group of 

23 special concern for purposes of refugee resettlement. 
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1 SEC. 304. PURSUIT OF FIRST ASYLUM POLICY. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that the United States 

3 should pursue an international agreement to adopt an ef4 fective ‘‘first asylum’’ policy, modeled on the first asylum 

5 policy for Vietnamese refugees, that guarantees safe haven 

6 and assistance to North Korean refugees, until such time 

7 as conditions in North Korea allow for their return. 

8 SEC. 305. UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REF9 UGEES. 

10 (a) ACTIONS IN CHINA.—It is the sense of Congress 

11 that—

12 (1) the Government of China has obligated 

13 itself to provide the United Nations High Commis14 sioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with unimpeded ac15 cess to North Koreans inside its borders to enable 

16 the UNHCR to determine whether they are refugees 

17 and whether they require assistance, pursuant to the 

18 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the 

19 Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol Relating to 

20 the Status of Refugees, and Article III, paragraph 

21 5 of the 1995 Agreement on the Upgrading of the 

22 UNHCR Mission in the People’s Republic of China 

23 to UNHCR Branch Office in the People’s Republic 

24 of China (referred to in this section as the 

25 ‘‘UNHCR Mission Agreement’’); 
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1 (2) the UNHCR, in order to effectively carry 

2 out its mandate to protect refugees, should liberally 

3 employ as professionals or Experts on Mission per4 sons with significant experience in humanitarian as5 sistance work among displaced North Koreans in 

6 China; 

7 (3) the UNHCR, in order to effectively carry 

8 out its mandate to protect refugees, should liberally 

9 contract with appropriate nongovernmental organi10 zations that have a proven record of providing hu11 manitarian assistance to displaced North Koreans in 

12 China; and 

13 (4) should the Government of China begin ac14 tively fulfilling its obligations toward North Korean 

15 refugees, all countries, including the United States, 

16 and relevant international organizations should in17 crease levels of humanitarian assistance provided in18 side China to help defray costs associated with the 

19 North Korean refugee presence. 

20 (b) ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS.—It is further the 

21 sense of Congress that—

22 (1) if the Government of China continues to 

23 refuse to provide the UNHCR with access to North 

24 Koreans within its borders, the UNHCR should ini25 tiate arbitration proceedings pursuant to Article 
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1 XVI of the UNHCR Mission Agreement and appoint 

2 an arbitrator for the UNHCR; and 

3 (2) because access to refugees is essential to the 

4 UNHCR mandate and to the purpose of a UNHCR 

5 branch office, a failure to assert those arbitration 

6 rights in present circumstances would constitute a 

7 significant abdication by the UNHCR of one of its 

8 core responsibilities. 

9 SEC. 306. HUMANITARIAN PAROLE. 

10 (a) PREREQUISITES FOR ELIGIBILITY.—Because 

11 North Korean refugees do not enjoy regular, unimpeded, 

12 and effective access to the United States refugee pro13 gram—

14 (1) for purposes of section 212(d)(5)(A) of the 

15 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

16 1182(d)(5)(A)), the parole of any alien who is a na17 tive or citizen of North Korea seeking to enter the 

18 United States, and who is a victim of North Korean 

19 Government malfeasance, shall be considered to be 

20 of significant public benefit; and 

21 (2) for purposes of section 212(d)(5)(B) of the 

22 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

23 1182(d)(5)(B)), the parole of any alien who is a ref24 ugee and a native or citizen of North Korea seeking 

25 to enter the United States, and who is a victim of 
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1 North Korean Government malfeasance, shall be 

2 considered to be for compelling reasons in the public 

3 interest with respect to that particular alien. 

4 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this subsection, a 

5 victim of North Korean Government malfeasance is a 

6 former political prisoner, a member of a persecuted reli7 gious group, a forced-labor conscript, a victim of debili8 tating malnutrition, a person deprived of professional cre9 dentials or subjected to other disproportionately harsh or 

10 discriminatory treatment resulting from his perceived or 

11 actual political or religious beliefs or activities, or a person 

12 who appears to have a credible claim of other persecution 

13 by the Government of North Korea. 

14 (c) DISCRETION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

15 construed to prohibit the Secretary of Homeland Security 

16 from establishing conditions for parole under section 

17 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

18 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)), or from denying parole to such aliens 

19 who are otherwise ineligible for parole. 

20 (d) LENGTH OF PAROLE.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

22 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

23 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)), if parole is granted to an alien 

24 who is a native or citizen of North Korea pursuant 

25 to subsection (a), the parole shall be effective until 
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1 the final resolution of any application for adjustment 

2 of status made pursuant to section 204 of this Act. 

3 (2) DENIAL OF ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—If 

4 an application for adjustment of status made pursu5 ant to section 204 is denied, the Secretary of Home6 land Security may, in the discretion of the Sec7 retary, parole the alien described in paragraph (1) 

8 pursuant to section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration 

9 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)). 

10 (3) EXTENSION OF PAROLE PERIOD.—If no ap11 plication for adjustment of status is made pursuant 

12 to section 204 within 18 months after parole is 

13 granted to an alien described in paragraph (1), the 

14 Secretary of Homeland Security may, in the discre15 tion of the Secretary, extend the parole period tem16 porarily under conditions that the Secretary pre17 scribes. 

18 (4) NO GRANT OF PAROLE.—If parole is not 

19 granted to an alien described in paragraph (2), the 

20 alien shall be treated pursuant to section 212(d)(5) 

21 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

22 1182(d)(5)) as if the purposes of the alien’s parole 

23 have been served. 

24 (5) TERMINATION OF PAROLE.—Notwith25 standing any other provision of this section, the pa-
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1 role period of an alien described in paragraph (1) 

2 shall terminate when the Secretary of State deter3 mines that—

4 (A) the human rights record of North 

5 Korea, according to the Country Report on 

6 Human Rights Practices issued by the Depart7 ment of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human 

8 Rights, and Labor, is satisfactory; and 

9 (B) North Korea is no longer on the list of 

10 nations designated as State sponsors of ter11 rorism by the Secretary of State. 

12 (e) SUBSEQUENT REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Noth13 ing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the Sec14 retary of Homeland Security from instituting removal pro15 ceedings against an alien paroled into the United States 

16 under this section for—

17 (1) conduct committed after the parole of the 

18 alien into the United States; or 

19 (2) conduct or a condition that was not dis20 closed to the Secretary prior to the parole of the 

21 alien into the United States. 

22 SEC. 307. NORTH KOREAN STATUS ADJUSTMENT. 

23 (a) STATUS ADJUSTMENT.—Notwithstanding section 

24 245(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

25 1255(c)), the status of any alien who is a native or citizen 
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1 of North Korea, has been inspected and admitted or pa2 roled into the United States subsequent to July 1, 2003, 

3 and has been physically present in the United States for 

4 at least 1 year, may be adjusted by the Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security, in the discretion of the Secretary and 

6 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, to 

7 that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence 

8 if—

9 (1) the alien makes an application for such ad10 justment within 18 months after parole is granted; 

11 (2) the alien is eligible to receive an immigrant 

12 visa and is admissible to the United States for per13 manent residence; and 

14 (3) the Secretary of Homeland Security deter15 mines that the alien has complied with the require16 ments of subsection (b). 

17 (b) REQUIRED COOPERATION WITH THE UNITED

18 STATES GOVERNMENT.—The requirements of this sub19 section shall be satisfied if—

20 (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security deter21 mines that—

22 (A) the alien is in possession of critical re23 liable information concerning the activities of 

24 the Government of North Korea or its agents, 

25 representatives, or officials, and the alien has 
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1 cooperated or is currently cooperating, fully and 

2 in good faith, with appropriate persons within 

3 the United States Government regarding such 

4 information; or 

5 (B) the alien is not in possession of critical 

6 reliable information concerning the activities of 

7 the Government of North Korea or its agents, 

8 representatives, or officials; and 

9 (2) the Secretary of Homeland Security deter10 mines that the alien—

11 (A) did not enter the United States in a 

12 then-current capacity as an agent, representa13 tive, or official of the Government of North 

14 Korea, or for any purpose contrary to the pur15 poses of this Act or for any unlawful purpose; 

16 (B) is not, since entering the United 

17 States or at the time during which the applica18 tion for adjustment of status is filed or in proc19 ess, an agent, representative, or official of the 

20 Government of North Korea, or during such pe21 riod acting for any purpose contrary to the pur22 poses of this Act or for any unlawful purpose; 

23 and 

24 (C) in the judgment of the Secretary of 

25 Homeland Security, is not likely to become an 
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1 agent, representative, or official of the Govern2 ment of North Korea, or act for any purpose 

3 contrary to the purposes of this Act or for any 

4 unlawful purpose. 

5 (c) EFFECT ON IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY

6 ACT.—

7 (1) DEFINITIONS.—The definitions in sub8 sections (a) and (b) of section 101 of the Immigra9 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101) shall apply 

10 to this section. 

11 (2) APPLICABILITY.—Nothing in this section 

12 shall be construed to repeal or restrict the powers, 

13 duties, functions, or authority of the Secretary of 

14 Homeland Security in the administration and en15 forcement of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

16 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) or any other Federal law relat17 ing to immigration, nationality, or naturalization. 

18 (d) SUBSEQUENT REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Noth19 ing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the Sec20 retary of Homeland Security from instituting removal pro21 ceedings against an alien whose status was adjusted under 

22 subsection (a) for—

23 (1) conduct committed after such adjustment of 

24 status; or 
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1 (2) conduct or a condition that was not dis2 closed to the Secretary prior to such adjustment of 

3 status. 

4 SEC. 308. TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS. 

5 (a) EXTRAORDINARY AND TEMPORARY CONDITIONS

6 CONSIDERED TO EXIST.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 

8 244(b)(1)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality 

9 Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(1)(C)), extraordinary and 

10 temporary conditions shall be considered to exist in 

11 North Korea that prevent aliens who are natives or 

12 citizens of North Korea from returning to North 

13 Korea in safety. 

14 (2) TERMINATION OF PROTECTED STATUS.—

15 The extraordinary and temporary conditions referred 

16 to in paragraph (1) shall be considered to exist until 

17 the Secretary of Homeland Security determines 

18 that—

19 (A) the human rights and trafficking 

20 records of North Korea, according to the Coun21 try Report on Human Rights Practices issued 

22 by the United States Department of State, Bu23 reau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 

24 and the country report on trafficking issued by 
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1 the Trafficking in Persons Office of the Depart2 ment of State, are satisfactory; and 

3 (B) North Korea is no longer on the list of 

4 nations designated as state sponsors of ter5 rorism by the United States Department of 

6 State. 

7 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that the United States should use its diplomatic 

9 means to promote the institution of measures similar to 

10 humanitarian parole or the form of temporary protected 

11 status granted under subsection (a), in countries that 

12 neighbor North Korea. 

13 SEC. 309. RIGHT TO ACCEPT EMPLOYMENT. 

14 Section 208(d)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

15 Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(d)(2)) is amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In the 

19 case of an applicant who is a citizen or native of 

20 North Korea, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

21 shall issue regulations under which such applicant 

22 shall be entitled to employment authorization, and 

23 such applicant shall not be subject to the 180-day 

24 limitation described in the previous sentence.’’. 
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1 SEC. 310. ANNUAL REPORTS. 

2 (a) IMMIGRATION INFORMATION.—Not later than 1 

3 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 

4 12 months thereafter for each of the following 5 years, 

5 the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Se6 curity shall submit a joint report to the appropriate con7 gressional committees on the operation of this title during 

8 the previous year, which shall include—

9 (1) the number of aliens who are natives or citi10 zens of North Korea and have been granted humani11 tarian parole under section 306, and the immigra12 tion status of such aliens before being granted hu13 manitarian parole; 

14 (2) the number of aliens who are natives or citi15 zens of North Korea and have been granted an ad16 justment of status under section 307, and the immi17 gration status of such aliens before being granted 

18 adjustment of status; 

19 (3) the number of aliens who are natives or citi20 zens of North Korea who were granted political asy21 lum; 

22 (4) the number of aliens who are natives or citi23 zens of North Korea who were granted temporary 

24 protected status under section 308; and 
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1 (5) the number of aliens who are natives or citi2 zens of North Korea who applied for refugee status 

3 and the number who were granted refugee status. 

4 (b) COUNTRIES OF PARTICULAR CONCERN.—The 

5 President shall include in each annual report on proposed 

6 refugee admission pursuant to section 207(d) of the Immi7 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(d)), informa8 tion about specific measures taken to facilitate access to 

9 the United States refugee program for individuals who 

10 have fled countries of particular concern, as defined by 

11 the Secretary of Homeland Security, for violations of reli12 gious freedom pursuant to section 402(b) of the Inter13 national Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

14 6442(b)). The report shall include, for each country of 

15 particular concern, a description of access of the nationals 

16 or former habitual residents of that country to a refugee 

17 determination on the basis of—

18 (1) referrals by external agencies to a refugee 

19 adjudication; 

20 (2) groups deemed to be of special humani21 tarian concern to the United States for purposes of 

22 refugee resettlement; and 

23 (3) family links to the United States.

Æ