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) intro-
duced 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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To expedite the provision of humanitarian assistance, includ-
ing life-saving medical care, to the people of North 
Korea, 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 ‘‘Enhancing North 
Korea Humanitarian Assistance Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) Providing humanitarian assistance, includ-
ing to countries subject to sanctions imposed by the 
United States, is an expression of American values 
that furthers United States interests around the 
world and is consistent with international humani-
tarian law. 
(2) As of February 2020, roughly 10,100,000 
people in North Korea are in urgent need of food as-
sistance and roughly 10,400,000 need nutrition sup-
port and improved access to basic services, including 
health care, water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities. 
(3) More than 40 percent of people in North 
Korea are undernourished, and 1 in 5 children in 
the country under the age of 5 is stunted in growth. 
(4) More than 1⁄3 of household drinking water 
in North Korea is contaminated. 
(5) Independent experts have identified severe 
deficiencies in North Korea’s public health infra-
structure, trained medical personnel, ability to com-
municate important safety information, and commit-
ment to addressing those deficiencies. 
(6) North Korea has one of the highest burdens 
of tuberculosis in the world and humanitarian assist-
ance is critical for countering the spread of deadly 
infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, 
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Hepatitis B, and the coronavirus disease 2019 (com-
monly known as ‘‘COVID–19’’). 
(7) North Korea cannot reliably maintain 
stocks of drugs to treat diseases such as tuberculosis 
and HIV/AIDS, posing the risk of interrupted treat-
ments, which can lead to treatment failures and de-
velopment of resistance to multiple therapies, mak-
ing treatment significantly more difficult and costly. 
(8) The spread of COVID–19 in North Korea 
is likely having devastating consequences for the 
people of that country who are especially vulnerable 
to a pandemic because of deficiencies in public 
health infrastructure. 
(9) The 2019 Global Health Security Index 
shows North Korea is the third least prepared coun-
try in the world to combat a health security crisis. 
(10) While the Government of North Korea has 
not reported any cases of COVID–19 in the country, 
the true extent and results of testing are unknown, 
and government officials have not historically been 
open or transparent about humanitarian emergencies 
facing the people of North Korea. 
(11) Responses to the COVID–19 crisis, includ-
ing border closings and quarantines have caused eco-
nomic shock and hampered international efforts that 
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would otherwise be providing life-saving support to 
the people of North Korea. 
(12) In its final report published on February 
7, 2020, the United Nations Panel of Experts on 
North Korea found that ‘‘United Nations agencies 
and humanitarian organizations continue to experi-
ence unintended consequences on their humanitarian 
programmes that make it impossible to operate nor-
mally in the Democratic People’s Republic of 
Korea.’’. 
(13) Barriers to humanitarian access can result 
from decisions made or delayed by the Government 
of North Korea, by the governments of other coun-
tries, including the governments of the United 
States and the People’s Republic of China, and by 
the Committee of the United Nations Security Coun-
cil established by United Nations Security Council 
Resolution 1718 (2006) (in this Act referred to as 
the ‘‘1718 Sanctions Committee’’). 
(14) Nongovernmental organizations that pro-
vide humanitarian assistance in North Korea must 
typically seek simultaneous authorizations from the 
Department of the Treasury, the Department of 
State, the Department of Commerce, the 1718 Sanc-
tions Committee, customs officials in the People’s 
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Republic of China, and the Government of North 
Korea, adding further delays to humanitarian ac-
cess. 
(15) The 1718 Sanctions Committee issued the 
document entitled ‘‘Implementation Assistance No-
tice No. 7’’ on August 6, 2018, to clarify the process 
for granting requests for humanitarian exemptions 
by the United Nations and to reaffirm that sanc-
tions are not intended to have adverse humanitarian 
consequences for civilians in North Korea, and this 
guidance was updated on December 1, 2020 to help 
streamline permissions for COVID–19-related aid 
and to extend humanitarian waivers from six to nine 
months. 
(16) United States Government travel restric-
tions impede the access of United States employees 
of humanitarian organizations inside North Korea 
and can complicate the monitoring and evaluation 
procedures that nongovernmental organizations have 
used to ensure that aid reaches the most vulnerable 
populations. 
(17) Humanitarian exceptions in comprehensive 
sanctions programs, such as the exceptions under 
section 510.512 of the North Korea Sanctions Regu-
lations, are not effective unless the persons who pro-
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