I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5959 
To reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 7, 2025 
Mrs. KIM (for herself and Mr. BERA) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act of 
2004, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘North Korean Human 
Rights Reauthorization Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The North Korean Human Rights Act of 
2004 (Public Law 108–333; 22 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.) 
and subsequent reauthorizations of such Act aimed 
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to promote the protection of human rights, docu-
mentation of human rights violations, transparency 
in the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and the 
importance of refugee protection. 
(2) According to the State Department’s 2023 
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, there 
are ‘‘widespread reports of political prisoners and 
detainees . . . most external estimates were between 
80,000 and 120,000; some NGOs placed the figure 
as high as 200,000.’’. 
(3) North Korea continues to hold a number of 
South Koreans and Japanese abducted after the 
signing of the Agreement Concerning a Military Ar-
mistice in Korea, signed at Panmunjom July 27, 
1953 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Korean War 
Armistice Agreement’’), and refuses to acknowledge 
the abduction of more than 100,000 South Koreans 
during the Korean War in violation of the Geneva 
Convention. 
(4) According to the State Department’s 2023 
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, there 
are significant human rights violations in North 
Korea, which include ‘‘arbitrary or unlawful killings, 
including extrajudicial killings; enforced disappear-
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ance; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treat-
ment; . . . and extensive gender based-violence.’’. 
(5) The effects of the COVID–19 pandemic and 
North Korea’s strict lockdown of its borders and 
crackdowns on informal market activities and small 
entrepreneurship have drastically increased food in-
security for its people and given rise to famine con-
ditions in parts of the country. 
(6) North Korea’s COVID–19 border lockdown 
measures also include shoot-to-kill orders that have 
resulted in the killing of— 
(A) North Koreans attempting to cross the 
border; and 
(B) at least 1 South Korean official in 
September 2020. 
(7) The Government of the People’s Republic of 
China is aiding and abetting North Korea’s human 
rights violations by forcibly repatriating North Ko-
rean refugees to North Korea where they are sent to 
prison camps, harshly interrogated, and tortured or 
executed. 
(8) The forcible repatriation of North Korean 
refugees violates the People’s Republic of China’s 
freely undertaken obligation to uphold the principle 
of non-refoulement, as a state party to the Conven-
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tion Relating to the Status of Refugees, done at Ge-
neva July 28, 1951 (and made applicable by the 
Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, done at 
New York January 31, 1967 (19 UST 6223)). 
(9) North Korea continues to deny freedom of 
religion and persecute religious minorities, especially 
Christians and followers of Shaminism. Eyewitnesses 
report that Christians in North Korea have been tor-
tured, forcibly detained, and even executed for pos-
sessing a Bible or professing Christianity. 
(10) The position of Special Envoy on North 
Korean Human Rights Issues was vacant from Jan-
uary 2017 to December 2022, even though the 
President is required to appoint a Senate-confirmed 
Special Envoy to fill this position in accordance with 
section 107 of the North Korean Human Rights Act 
of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817). In January 2023, Presi-
dent Biden nominated Julie Turner as Special 
Envoy on North Korean Human Rights and Issues. 
She was confirmed in July 2023. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the human rights and humanitarian condi-
tions within North Korea remain deplorable and 
have been intentionally perpetuated against the peo-
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ple of North Korea through policies endorsed and 
implemented by Kim Jong-Un and the Government 
of North Korea; 
(2) promoting information access in North 
Korea continues to be a successful method of coun-
tering DPRK propaganda and the United States 
Government should continue to support nongovern-
mental radio broadcasting to North Korea and pro-
mote other emerging methods in this space; 
(3) because refugees among North Koreans 
fleeing into the People’s Republic of China face se-
vere punishments upon their forcible return, the 
United States should urge the Government of the 
People’s Republic of China— 
(A) to immediately halt its forcible repatri-
ation of North Koreans; 
(B) to allow the United Nations High 
Commissioner for Refugees (referred to in this 
section as ‘‘UNHCR’’) unimpeded access to 
North Koreans within China to determine 
whether they are refugees and require assist-
ance; 
(C) to fulfill its obligations as a state party 
to the Convention Relating to the Status of 
Refugees, done at Geneva July 28, 1951 (and 
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made applicable by the Protocol Relating to the 
Status of Refugees, done at New York January 
31, 1967 (19 UST 6223)), and the Agreement 
on the upgrading of the UNHCR Mission in the 
People’s Republic of China to UNHCR branch 
office in the People’s Republic of China, done 
at Geneva December 1, 1995; 
(D) to address the concerns of the United 
Nations Committee Against Torture by incor-
porating into domestic legislation the principle 
of non-refoulement; and 
(E) to recognize the legal status of North 
Korean women who marry or have children with 
Chinese citizens and ensure that all such moth-
ers and children are granted resident status 
and access to education and other public serv-
ices in accordance with Chinese law and inter-
national standards; 
(4) the United States should continue to pro-
mote the effective and transparent delivery and dis-
tribution of any humanitarian aid provided in North 
Korea to ensure that such aid reaches its intended 
recipients to the point of consumption or utilization 
by cooperating closely with the Government of the 
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Republic of Korea and international and nongovern-
mental organizations; 
(5) the United States currently blocks United 
States passports from being used to travel to North 
Korea without a special validation from the Depart-
ment of State, and the Department of State should 
continue to take steps to increase public awareness 
about the risks and dangers of travel by United 
States citizens to North Korea; 
(6) the United Nations has a significant role to 
play in promoting and improving human rights in 
North Korea and should press for access for the 
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights 
in North Korea, as well as for the United Nations 
High Commissioner for Human Rights; 
(7) North Korea should repeal the Reactionary 
Thought and Culture Denunciation Law and other 
draconian laws, regulations, and decrees that mani-
festly violate the freedom of opinion and expression 
and the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; 
(8) the United States should expand the Re-
wards for Justice program to be open to North Ko-
rean officials who can provide evidence of crimes 
against humanity being committed by North Korean 
officials; 
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(9) the United States should continue to seek 
cooperation from all foreign governments— 
(A) to allow the UNHCR access to process 
North Korean refugees overseas for resettle-
ment; and 
(B) to allow United States officials access 
to process refugees for possible resettlement in 
the United States; and 
(10) the Secretary of State, through diplomacy 
by senior officials, including United States ambas-
sadors to Asia-Pacific countries, and in close co-
operation with South Korea, should make every ef-
fort to promote the protection of North Korean refu-
gees, escapees, and defectors. 
SEC. 4. REAUTHORIZATIONS. 
(a) SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY 
PROGRAMS.—Section 102 of the North Korean Human 
Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7812) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘2022’’ 
and inserting ‘‘2030’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this subsection, and annually for 
the subsequent 5-year period, the Assistant Secretary for 
the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs shall submit 
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to the appropriate congressional committees a report on 
the activities undertaken in the preceding 12 months to 
coordinate and promote efforts to improve respect for the 
fundamental human rights of the people of North Korea, 
including— 
‘‘(1) any engagements in discussions with 
North Korean officials regarding human rights; 
‘‘(2) any support for international efforts to 
promote human rights and political freedoms in 
North Korea, including coordination and dialogue 
between the United States and the United Nations, 
the European Union, North Korea, and the other 
countries in Northeast Asia; 
‘‘(3) any consultation with nongovernmental or-
ganizations that have attempted to address human 
rights in North Korea; 
‘‘(4) detailed descriptions of the programs and 
activities supported through the funding authorized 
in subsection (b); 
‘‘(5) detailed descriptions of any strategies de-
veloped to improve human rights conditions in North 
Korea, including technical training and exchange 
programs; and 
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‘‘(6) an action plan for supporting the imple-
mentation of the United Nations Commission on 
Human Rights Resolution 2004/13.’’. 
(b) ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMA-
TION.—Section 104 of the North Korean Human Rights 
Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7814) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘2022’’ 
and inserting ‘‘2030’’; and 
(2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘2022’’ and 
inserting ‘‘2030’’. 
(c) ASSISTANCE PROVIDED OUTSIDE
OF NORTH 
KOREA.—Section 203 of the North Korean Human Rights 
Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7833) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘103(15)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘103(17)’’; and 
(2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘2018 
through 2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2030’’. 
(d) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Section 305(a) of the North 
Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7845(a)) 
is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
striking ‘‘2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2030’’. 
SEC. 5. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMA-
TION. 
Title I of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 
2004 (22 U.S.C. 7811 et seq.) is amended— 
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(1) by amending section 103 to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 103. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
‘‘It is the sense of Congress that— 
‘‘(1) the United States should facilitate the 
unhindered dissemination of information in North 
Korea by increasing its support for communications 
platforms that effectively reach the people of North 
Korea; and 
‘‘(2) all United States Government mediums in-
tended to communicate directly with relevant inter-
national audiences should increase content dissemi-
nation above current levels to North Korea.’’; and 
(2) in section 104(a), by striking ‘‘Broadcasting 
Board of Governors’’ each place such term appears 
and inserting ‘‘United States Government mediums 
intended to communicate directly with relevant inter-
national audiences’’. 
SEC. 6. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR NORTH KOREAN HUMAN 
RIGHTS ISSUES. 
Section 107 of the North Korean Human Rights Act 
of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817) is amended by striking sub-
section (d) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(d) REPORT
ON
APPOINTMENT
OF
SPECIAL 
ENVOY.—If the position of Special Envoy will remain va-
cant for 1 year or longer without any presidential nomina-
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tion to appoint a new Special Envoy, not later than 90 
days before the date on which such position becomes va-
cant for 1 year, the Secretary of State shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees a report that de-
scribes the efforts being taken to appoint a new Special 
Envoy.’’. 
SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING KOREAN AMER-
ICAN DIVIDED FAMILIES. 
It is the sense of Congress— 
(1) the United States and North Korea should 
begin the process of reuniting Korean-American di-
vided family members with their immediate relatives 
through ways such as— 
(A) identifying divided families in the 
United States and North Korea who are willing 
and able to participate in a pilot program for 
family reunions; 
(B) finding matches for members of such 
families through organizations such as the Red 
Cross; and 
(C) working with the Government of South 
Korea to include American citizens in inter-Ko-
rean video reunions; 
(2) the institution of family is inalienable and 
the restoration of contact between divided families 
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whether physically, literarily, or virtually is an ur-
gent need; and 
(3) the United States and North Korea should 
pursue reunions as a humanitarian priority of imme-
diate concern. 
Æ 
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