[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5257 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5257
To expedite the provision of humanitarian assistance, including life-
saving medical care, to the people of North Korea, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 5, 2026
Mr. Markey (for himself and Ms. Warren) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To expedite the provision of humanitarian assistance, including life-
saving medical care, to the people of North Korea, 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 ``Enhancing North Korea Humanitarian
Assistance Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Providing humanitarian assistance, including 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
humanitarian law and promoting peace.
(2) As of 2025, roughly 11,800,000 people in North Korea
are in urgent need of food assistance and roughly 10,400,000
need nutrition support and improved access to basic services,
including health care, water, sanitation, and hygiene
facilities.
(3) More than 45 percent of people in North Korea are
undernourished, and 1 out of every 5 children in the country
younger than 5 years of age is stunted in growth.
(4) One-third of household drinking water in North Korea is
contaminated.
(5) Independent experts have identified severe deficiencies
in North Korea's public health infrastructure, trained medical
personnel, ability to communicate important safety information,
and the ability to address those deficiencies.
(6) North Korea has one of the highest burdens of
tuberculosis in the world and humanitarian assistance is
critical for countering the spread of deadly infectious
diseases such as tuberculosis.
(7) North Korea cannot reliably maintain stocks of drugs to
treat diseases such as tuberculosis posing the risk of
interrupted treatments, which can lead to treatment failures
and resistance to multiple therapies that make treatment
significantly more difficult and costly.
(8) In its final report published on August 28, 2020, the
United Nations Panel of Experts on North Korea found that
``there can be little doubt that United Nations sanctions have
had unintended effects on the humanitarian situation and aid
operations within the Democratic People's Republic of Korea''.
(9) Barriers to humanitarian access can result from
decisions made or delayed by the Government of North Korea, by
the governments of other countries, including the Governments
of the United States and the People's Republic of China, and by
the Committee of the United Nations Security Council
established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718
(2006) (referred to in this Act as the ``1718 Sanctions
Committee'').
(10) Nongovernmental organizations that provide
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 Sanctions Committee, customs officials in the People's
Republic of China, and the Government of North Korea, adding
further delays to humanitarian access.
(11) The 1718 Sanctions Committee issued the document
entitled ``Implementation Assistance Notice No. 7'' on August
6, 2018, to clarify the process for granting requests for
humanitarian exemptions by the United Nations and to reaffirm
that sanctions are not intended to have adverse humanitarian
consequences for civilians in North Korea. That guidance was
updated on December 1, 2020, to help streamline permissions for
COVID-19 related aid and to extend humanitarian waivers from 6
to 9 months. It was updated again on June 2, 2023, to further
streamline the exemption process and to reflect United Nations
Security Council Resolution 2664 (2022), which created a
standing humanitarian carve-out from the asset-freeze measures
while leaving other sanctions measures subject to case-by-case
exemptions.
(12) United States Government travel restrictions 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.
(13) Humanitarian exceptions in comprehensive sanctions
programs, such as the exceptions under section 510.512 of the
North Korea Sanctions Regulations, are not effective unless the
persons who provide assistance along with their financial
institutions, suppliers, shippers, and other entities can make
practical use of the exceptions, including the ability to make
use of humanitarian exemptions without delay or extended review
periods.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) national governments and multilateral authorities must
take action to mitigate documented delays and ensure that
sanctions imposed with respect to North Korea do not hinder
efforts to provide humanitarian relief to the people of North
Korea;
(2) the Department of the Treasury should provide timely
and meaningful responses to requests for specific licenses
given that humanitarian organizations typically have a limited
time to execute projects that must be approved by multiple
United States Government agencies and foreign governments;
(3) because humanitarian assistance is unlikely to enable
large-scale sanctions evasion and revenue generation, sanctions
enforcement should focus on ongoing North Korean activities,
including ship-to-ship transfers of coal and other goods,
cyberattacks, and the use of forced labor abroad, all
highlighted in reports issued by the United Nations Panel of
Experts on North Korea and other authoritative sources;
(4) financial institutions should recognize and consider
the reputational and practical costs of impeding legitimate
efforts to deliver life saving aid to North Korea; and
(5) as of July 2026, the Department of State's travel ban
for humanitarian missions to North Korea, introduced in 2017,
is inconsistent with the intent of the North Korea Sanctions
and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.),
which explicitly exempted work related to the repatriation of
the remains of United States veterans.
SEC. 4. ENHANCING EXEMPTIONS FROM UNITED STATES SANCTIONS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, acting through
the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, shall take the
following actions:
(1) Modify the North Korea Sanctions Regulations to
eliminate pre-activity reporting requirements entirely, in line
with the precedent set by previous general licenses.
(2) Adopt a post-activity reporting process, facilitating
urgently needed humanitarian assistance without diminishing
oversight or compliance.
(b) Modification to North Korea Sanctions Regulations.--Not later
than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of the Treasury shall modify the North Korea Sanctions Regulations so
that personal computers and related peripherals that support authorized
humanitarian activities by nongovernmental organizations are not
considered to be ``luxury goods'' and do not require export license
from the Bureau of Industry and Security, including in circumstances
where such items may otherwise be authorized for export pursuant to
section 740.14 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, which would
permit authorization for temporary exports by United States persons
traveling with baggage, including certain tools of the trade, for work
abroad.
(c) Modification To Export Administration Regulations.--Not later
than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of Commerce shall amend the Export Administration Regulations,
including section 746.4(b)(1) of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations,
as necessary to exclude personal computers and related peripheral
equipment that support authorized humanitarian activities by
nongovernmental organizations from the definition of ``luxury goods''.
(d) Guidance.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, acting through
the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, shall issue
plainly worded guidance intended for financial institutions, shipping
companies, foreign customs officials, and others involved in
transactions related to humanitarian assistance that--
(1) clarifies the applicability of the humanitarian
exception under the North Korea Sanctions Regulations; and
(2) describes best practices for ensuring that activities
are consistent with that exception.
(e) Report Required.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and every 120 days thereafter, the Secretary of
the Treasury, acting through the Director of the Office of Foreign
Assets Control and in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that
includes--
(1) a list of requests for specific licenses or comfort
letters related to humanitarian assistance in North Korea
denied by the Office of Foreign Assets Control during such 120-
day period, including explanations for the denials;
(2) a list of requests for specific licenses or comfort
letters related to humanitarian assistance in North Korea that
have been pending for 60 days or more as of the date on which
the report is submitted, including explanations for the delays;
and
(3) a description of recent efforts to streamline the
process by which nongovernmental organizations engaged in
humanitarian activity in North Korea apply for and are granted
specific licenses or comfort letters.
SEC. 5. ENHANCING MULTILATERAL SANCTIONS EXEMPTIONS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall direct the United
States Permanent Representative to the United Nations to use the voice,
vote, and influence of the United States to urge the United Nations--
(1) to extend the period for humanitarian exemptions from
the 1718 Sanctions Committee to 1 year and remove the
limitation on exemption applications per organization per year;
(2) to apply lessons learned from expedited approvals of
requests for humanitarian exemptions during the COVID-19
pandemic to speed approval at the 1718 Sanctions Committee of
other critical exemption requests, such as requests that would
address urgent needs identified in the annual reports of the
United Nations on needs and priorities for North Korea; and
(3) to modify applications for humanitarian exemptions from
the 1718 Sanctions Committee to be less burdensome for
nongovernmental organizations, drawing as appropriate on
successes in approaches taken by other United Nations sanctions
committees.
(b) Reporting.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of
State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report--
(1) describing any requests for humanitarian exemptions to
the 1718 Sanctions Committee known to have been denied in the
180 days preceding submission of the report or known to have
been in process for more than 60 days as of the date of the
report, and any known explanations for such denials and delays;
(2) detailing any action by a foreign government in the 180
days preceding submission of the report that has delayed or
impeded humanitarian assistance approved by the 1718 Sanctions
Committee, including the status of obstacles to humanitarian
assistance posed by customs officials in the People's Republic
of China; and
(3) describing efforts in the 180 days preceding submission
of the report to establish or maintain an approved banking
channel for transactions related to humanitarian assistance for
North Korea.
SEC. 6. STREAMLINING HUMANITARIAN TRAVEL AUTHORIZATIONS.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
and every 120 days thereafter, the Secretary of State shall provide to
the appropriate congressional committees a briefing--
(1) detailing the number of requests for special validation
to travel to North Korea;
(2) a list of requests for special validation to travel to
North Korea that have been pending for 60 days or more as of
the date on which the report is submitted, including
explanations for the delays; and
(3) a list of requests for special validation to travel to
North Korea denied by the Department of State during such 120-
day period, including explanations for the denials.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the
Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Export administration regulations.--The term ``Export
Administration Regulations'' means the regulations set forth in
subchapter C of chapter VII of title 15, Code of Federal
Regulations, or successor regulations.
(3) North korea sanctions regulations.--The term ``North
Korea Sanctions Regulations'' means the regulations set forth
in part 510 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, or
successor regulations.
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