[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 16, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H1416-H1417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  BLOCKING PROPERTY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF NORTH KOREA AND THE WORKERS' 
 PARTY OF KOREA, AND PROHIBITING CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 
 NORTH KOREA--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. 
                              NO. 114-117)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs and ordered to be printed:

To the Congress of the United States: 
  Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), I hereby report that I have issued an 
Executive Order (the ``order'') with respect to North Korea. The order 
takes additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared 
in Executive Order 13466 of June 26, 2008, expanded in scope in 
Executive Order 13551 of August 30, 2010, relied upon for additional 
steps in Executive Order 13570 of April 18, 2011, and further expanded 
in scope in Executive Order 13687 of January 2, 2015. The order also 
facilitates implementation of certain provisions of the North Korea 
Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-122), 
which I signed on February 18, 2016, and ensures the implementation of 
certain provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolution 
(UNSCR) 2270 of March 2, 2016.
  In 2008, upon terminating the exercise of certain authorities under 
the Trading With the Enemy Act (TWEA) with respect to North Korea, the 
President issued Executive Order 13466 and declared a national 
emergency pursuant to IEEPA to deal with the unusual and extraordinary 
threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States 
posed by the existence and risk of the proliferation of weapons-usable 
fissile material on the Korean Peninsula. Executive Order 13466 
continued certain restrictions on North Korea and North Korean 
nationals that had been in place under TWEA.
  In 2010, I issued Executive Order 13551. In that order, I determined 
that the Government of North Korea's continued provocative actions 
destabilized the Korean peninsula and imperiled U.S. Armed Forces, 
allies, and trading partners in the region and warranted the imposition 
of additional sanctions, and I expanded the national emergency declared 
in Executive Order 13466. In Executive Order 13551, I ordered blocked 
the property and interests in property of three North Korean entities 
and one individual listed in the Annex to that order and provided 
criteria under which the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
with the Secretary of State, may designate additional persons whose 
property and interests in property shall be blocked.
  In 2011, I issued Executive Order 13570 to further address the 
national emergency with respect to North Korea and to strengthen the 
implementation of UNSCRs 1718 and 1874. That Executive Order prohibited 
the direct or indirect importation of goods, services, and technology 
from North Korea.
  In 2015, I issued Executive Order 13687, in which I determined that 
the provocative, destabilizing, and repressive actions and policies of 
the Government of North Korea constitute a continuing threat to the 
national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States, 
and further expanded the national emergency declared in Executive Order 
13466. In Executive Order 13687 I provided additional criteria under 
which the Secretary of the

[[Page H1417]]

Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may designate 
additional persons whose property and interests in property shall be 
blocked.
  I have now determined that the Government of North Korea's continuing 
pursuit of its nuclear and missile programs, as evidenced most recently 
by its February 7, 2016, launch using ballistic missile technology and 
its January 6, 2016, nuclear test in violation of its obligations 
pursuant to numerous UNSCRs and in contravention of its commitments 
under the September 19, 2005, Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks, 
increasingly imperils the United States and its allies. The order 
addresses those actions and takes additional steps with respect to the 
national emergency declared in Executive Order 13466 of June 26, 2008. 
The order also facilitates implementation of certain provisions of the 
North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 (Public Law 
114-122), which I signed on February 18, 2016, and ensures the 
implementation of certain provisions of UNSCR 2270 of March 2, 2016.
  The order is not targeted at the people of North Korea, but rather is 
aimed at the Government of North Korea and its activities that threaten 
the United States and others. It blocks the property and interests in 
property of the Government of North Korea and the Workers' Party of 
Korea and provides additional criteria for blocking the property and 
interests in property of any person determined by the Secretary of the 
Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:
   to operate in such industries in the North Korean economy as 
may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
with the Secretary of State, such as transportation, mining, energy, or 
financial services;
   to have sold, supplied, transferred, or purchased, directly 
or indirectly, to or from North Korea or any person acting for or on 
behalf of the Government of North Korea or the Workers' Party of Korea, 
metal, graphite, coal, or software, where any revenue or goods received 
may benefit the Government of North Korea or the Workers' Party of 
Korea, including North Korea's nuclear or ballistic missile programs;
   to have engaged in, facilitated, or been responsible for an 
abuse or violation of human rights by the Government of North Korea or 
the Workers' Party of Korea or any person acting for or on behalf of 
either such entity;
   to have engaged in, facilitated, or been responsible for the 
exportation of workers from North Korea, including exportation to 
generate revenue for the Government of North Korea or the Workers' 
Party of Korea;
   to have engaged in significant activities undermining 
cybersecurity through the use of computer networks or systems against 
targets outside of North Korea on behalf of the Government of North 
Korea or the Workers' Party of Korea;
   to have engaged in, facilitated, or been responsible for 
censorship by the Government of North Korea or the Workers' Party of 
Korea;
   to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided 
financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services 
to or in support of, any person whose property and interests in 
property are blocked pursuant to the order;
   to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported 
to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose 
property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to the order; 
or
   to have attempted to engage in any of the activities 
described above.
  In addition, the order prohibits:
   the exportation of goods, services, and technology to North 
Korea;
   new investment in North Korea; and
   the approval, financing, facilitation, or guarantee of such 
exports and investments.
  Finally, the order suspends entry into the United States of any alien 
determined to meet one or more of the above criteria.
  I have delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury the authority, in 
consultation with the Secretary of State, to take such actions, 
including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all 
powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry 
out the purposes of the order. All executive agencies are directed to 
take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the 
provisions of the order.
  I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.
                                                        Barack Obama.  
The White House, March 15, 2016.

                          ____________________