Washington, DC – Today, the House passed the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3012), a bipartisan bill led by House Foreign Affairs Indo-Pacific Subcommittee Chairwoman Young Kim (CA-40) and Ranking Member Ami Bera (CA-06) to reauthorize and update the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, which became law to promote human rights and freedom in North Korea.
Rep. Kim spoke on the House floor in support of H.R. 3012. Watch HERE.
“While Kim Jong Un grows his nuclear arsenal and forges an Unholy Alliance with Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and the Ayatollahs to secure his power, he oppresses the North Korean people every day through torture, starvation, imprisonment, and forced labor,” said Rep. Young Kim. “We cannot ignore the threat posed by North Korea, and holding the North Korean regime accountable without supporting human rights is a nonstarter. The North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act helps us to do both by leading the United States to take concrete steps to support human rights for the North Korean people. I’ll keep fighting to get this across the finish line.”
“North Korea’s oppressive regime continues to commit heinous human rights abuses against its own people, including arbitrary detention, forced disappearance, torture, and severe restrictions on freedom of religion and belief,” said Representative Ami Bera. “I am pleased to see this bipartisan legislation pass overwhelmingly to strengthen the United States’ commitment to promoting human rights in North Korea and holding the Kim regime accountable for their ongoing abuses.”
The North Korean Human Rights Act includes initiatives Rep. Kim has worked on such as:
- Reuniting Korean American divided families with their war-torn loved ones;
- Appointing a Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues;
- Supporting U.S. Agency for Global Media’s broadcasting efforts to promote freedom of information in North Korea;
- Ensuring humanitarian aid reaches the North Korean people and does not support military operations; and,
- Working with the United Nation’s Refugee Agency to protect and resettle North Korean refugees.
