US-NKorearightsact
U.S.lawmakersintroducebilltoreauthorizeN. Koreanrightsact
WASHINGTON, April 29 (Yonhap) — TwoU.S.lawmakershaveintroduced a bipartisanbilltoreauthorizetheNorthKoreanHumanRightsAct, whichexpiredinSeptember 2022.
YoungKim (R-CA), thechairwomanoftheHouseForeignAffairsSubcommitteeontheIndo-Pacific, andAmiBera (D-CA), a rankingmember, introducedthebillFridaytoreauthorize, updateandimprovethelaw, whichwasenactedin 2004 topromotehumanrightsandfreedominNorthKorea, Kimsaid.
“KimJong-unoppressestheNorthKoreanpeoplethroughtorture, imprisonment, forcedlaborandstarvationinhisquesttoexpandNorthKorea’snuclearweaponsprogramandgainmilitarypower,” theKoreanAmericanlawmakersaidin a pressrelease.
“Thesegrosshumanrightsabusescannotbetoleratedandcannotgounchecked,” sheadded.
Kimemphasizedthebill’sintroductioncomesat a timewhenSouthKoreaandtheUnitedStatesarecelebratingthe 70th anniversaryoftheirallianceandPresidentYoonSukYeolisvisitingtheU.S.
TheNorthKoreanHumanRightsActincludesinitiativestoreuniteKoreanAmericandividedfamilieswiththeirwar-tornlovedones, appoint a specialenvoyonNorthKoreanhumanrightsissues, supporttheU.S.AgencyforGlobalMedia’sbroadcastingeffortstopromotefreedomofinformationinNorthKorea, andensurethedeliveryanddistributionofhumanitarianaidgoestothepeopleofNorthKorea.
Lastmonth, U.S.SenatorsMarcoRubio (R-FL) andTimKaine (D-VA) alsointroduced a billtoextendtheactforanotherfiveyears.
