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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5959 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
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 Representatives 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 to promote the protection of
human rights, documentation 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 Armistice 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
disappearance; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading
treatment; . . . 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 insecurity for its people and given rise to
famine conditions 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 Korean 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 Convention Relating to the Status of
Refugees, done at Geneva 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 tortured, forcibly detained, and even
executed for possessing a Bible or professing Christianity.
(10) The position of Special Envoy on North Korean Human
Rights Issues was vacant from January 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, President 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 conditions within
North Korea remain deplorable and have been intentionally
perpetuated against the people 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 countering DPRK propaganda and the
United States Government should continue to support
nongovernmental radio broadcasting to North Korea and promote
other emerging methods in this space;
(3) because refugees among North Koreans fleeing into the
People's Republic of China face severe 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 repatriation
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
assistance;
(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 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 incorporating 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 mothers and children are
granted resident status and access to education and
other public services in accordance with Chinese law
and international standards;
(4) the United States should continue to promote the
effective and transparent delivery and distribution 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 Republic of Korea and international and nongovernmental
organizations;
(5) the United States currently blocks United States
passports from being used to travel to North Korea without a
special validation from the Department 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 manifestly violate the freedom of opinion and
expression and the freedom of thought, conscience, and
religion;
(8) the United States should expand the Rewards for Justice
program to be open to North Korean officials who can provide
evidence of crimes against humanity being committed by North
Korean officials;
(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 resettlement; 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 ambassadors to Asia-Pacific
countries, and in close cooperation with South Korea, should
make every effort to promote the protection of North Korean
refugees, 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 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 organizations
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 developed to
improve human rights conditions in North Korea, including
technical training and exchange programs; and
``(6) an action plan for supporting the implementation of
the United Nations Commission on Human Rights Resolution 2004/
13.''.
(b) Actions To Promote Freedom of Information.--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 INFORMATION.
Title I of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C.
7811 et seq.) is amended--
(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 intended to
communicate directly with relevant international audiences
should increase content dissemination 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 international 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 subsection (d) and inserting the
following:
``(d) Report on Appointment of Special Envoy.--If the position of
Special Envoy will remain vacant for 1 year or longer without any
presidential nomination to appoint a new Special Envoy, not later than
90 days before the date on which such position becomes vacant for 1
year, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that describes the efforts being
taken to appoint a new Special Envoy.''.
SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING KOREAN AMERICAN DIVIDED FAMILIES.
It is the sense of Congress--
(1) the United States and North Korea should begin the
process of reuniting Korean-American divided 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-Korean video
reunions;
(2) the institution of family is inalienable and the
restoration of contact between divided families whether
physically, literarily, or virtually is an urgent need; and
(3) the United States and North Korea should pursue
reunions as a humanitarian priority of immediate concern.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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