[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 9, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S714-S715]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 NORTH KOREA SANCTIONS ENFORCEMENT BILL

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I rise to discuss the bill that will be 
coming before the Senate this week, the North Korea Sanctions 
Enforcement Act, which seeks to curb North Korea's unacceptable 
behavior through the implementation of targeted sanctions.
  On January 6 of this year, North Korea tested a nuclear weapon in 
open violation of numerous U.N. resolutions. This is the fourth time 
North Korea has conducted a nuclear weapons test, and it is estimated 
the country may have as many as 20 nuclear warheads in its arsenal.
  Just this past weekend, while many Americans were getting ready to 
watch the Super Bowl, North Korea conducted a missile test, putting a 
satellite into orbit. This missile test, which has already been 
condemned by the U.N. Security Council, served as a demonstration of 
the threat posed by North Korea's long-range missile program. In fact, 
just a few hours later, the satellite launched by the North Korean 
missile passed over the site of the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, CA.
  If equipped with a nuclear warhead, a missile similar to the one 
launched this weekend could potentially threaten the United States and 
our allies, and North Korea is actively seeking to market this same 
missile technology, as well as its nuclear weapons technology, to other 
rogue regimes.
  North Korea's history of aggressive behavior is already well known 
and well documented. In March of 2010, a North Korean torpedo sank the 
South Korean naval vessel Cheonan, killing 46 sailors. In November of 
2010, North Korea fired artillery on the island of Yeonpyeong, killing 
two soldiers and injuring an additional 15 soldiers and 2 civilians.
  North Korea's dictator Kim Jong Un continues to spout threats against 
the United States and our allies. This past year, when South Korean 
citizens sent leaflets with unfiltered information into North Korea, 
the regime responded with threats to turn the whole of South Korea into 
a ``sea of fire.'' After the January nuclear test, a North Korean 
spokesman said: ``North Korean scientists are in high spirits.'' The 
statement went on to claim that North Korea detonated an H-bomb, which 
we now know to be untrue, and added that the bomb was ``capable of 
wiping out the whole territory of the U.S. all at once.'' These threats 
are so common now that they barely make the news.
  North Korea is not only a threat to the United States, it is also a 
threat to its own people. It is estimated that 150,000 to 200,000 North 
Koreans are imprisoned in concentration camps. We can confirm the 
existence of these camps from satellite photographs and firsthand 
accounts. These are not camps for what we would consider criminals but 
for individuals deemed disloyal to the regime. The ``crime'' of a 
single family member--which can be something as simple as accidentally 
tarnishing the photo of a member of North Korea's hereditary 
dictatorship--can lead to an entire North Korean family being sent away 
to a labor camp.

  The brutality of these camps has been confirmed by those who have 
made it out. To date, more than 28,000 North Korean defectors have 
escaped and made it to South Korea. Tens of thousands more are still in 
China, often working as cheap laborers who become victims of human 
trafficking.
  The stories of those who have escaped Kim Jong Un's regime carry a 
common theme: starvation, imprisonment, torture, and the execution of 
family members. And this is everyday life for the people of North 
Korea.
  The bill we are considering this week seeks to curb North Korea's 
aggressive behavior through the use of targeted sanctions. The bill 
restricts access to financial resources and raw materials that North 
Korea uses to support its nuclear weapons program and operate its 
political prison and forced labor camps. It levels mandatory sanctions 
against individuals who contribute to North Korea's ballistic missile 
development and targets luxury goods the regime uses to maintain the 
loyalty of party elites. It also puts in place sanctions against any 
entity determined to be enabling North Korea's ability to censor 
information, as well as those engaged in money laundering, narcotics 
trafficking, and counterfeiting. The bill also includes discretionary 
sanctions that the U.S. President could use to target entities 
assisting North Korea in misappropriating funds for the benefit of 
North Korean officials. The President would have to justify any waivers 
of these sanctions on a case-by-case basis. The bill also codifies into 
law the Presidential Executive orders issued in 2015 following the 
cyber attack on Sony Pictures.
  This is a multifaceted bill designed to target North Korea's weapons 
programs, human rights abuses, and the finances of government elites. 
And it will do so with minimal impact on the lives of everyday North 
Koreans who continue to suffer at the hands of their own government.
  Last week I introduced legislation addressing another threat posed by 
North Korea. As I stated before, North Korea is actively seeking to 
market its nuclear weapons technology to other rogue regimes. In fact, 
the Syrian nuclear reactor destroyed in 2007 is based on a North Korean 
design. My bill would ensure that North Korea can't sell its technology 
to another rogue regime--Iran.
  Although President Obama's nuclear deal seeks to prevent Iran from 
acquiring a nuclear weapon, many of us remain skeptical. And with the 
North Korean regime strapped for cash, its nuclear weapons and missile 
technology are some of the few commodities it can offer, and it 
actively tries to market them to other rogue regimes.
  My bill seeks to prevent Iran from becoming a potential customer for 
North Korea's nuclear weapons technology. Under my legislation, if Iran 
attempts to acquire nuclear weapons technology from North Korea, all 
sanctions waived or suspended as a result of the President's nuclear 
deal would be reinstated immediately. A nuclear armed Iran is 
unacceptable.
  Regardless of what the President claims his Iran nuclear deal has 
achieved, we must remain vigilant and ensure that Iran keeps its end of 
the agreement and does not go after a nuclear weapon.

[[Page S715]]

  I am glad the Senate is addressing the threat posed by North Korea. A 
similar version of the North Korea sanctions bill that we are 
addressing this week recently passed the House of Representatives by a 
vote of 418 to 2. I hope we will see similar bipartisan support for the 
bill here in the Senate. We should not compromise the national security 
of the United States with disputes between our political parties. I 
hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle feel the same and will 
join me in moving this bill forward.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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