[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 140 (Thursday, September 15, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5849-S5850]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 564--CONDEMNING NORTH KOREA'S FIFTH NUCLEAR TEST ON 
                           SEPTEMBER 9, 2016

  Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. Reed, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Durbin, and 
Mr. Schumer) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 564

       Whereas the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea 
     (DPRK) conducted its fifth nuclear test on September 9, 2016, 
     in Punggye-ri, North Hamgyong Province;
       Whereas North Korea's nuclear test on September 9th, the 
     second nuclear test this year, follows an unprecedented 
     campaign of ballistic missile launches, which the Government 
     of North Korea claims are intended to serve as delivery 
     vehicles for nuclear weapons targeting the United States and 
     United States allies South Korea and Japan;
       Whereas North Korea continues to test nuclear weapons and 
     intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles, 
     which pose a major threat to the United States and United 
     States allies and partners in Asia and around the world;
       Whereas the Government of North Korea's belligerent 
     behavior has been in direct defiance of United Nations 
     Security Council Resolutions 1718 (adopted October 14, 2006), 
     1874 (adopted June 12, 2009), 2087 (adopted January 22, 
     2013), 2094 (adopted March 7, 2013), and 2270 (adopted March 
     2, 2016) and the non-proliferation regime;
       Whereas the United Nations Security Council strongly 
     condemned North Korea's nuclear test and expressed its 
     willingness to begin to work immediately on appropriate 
     measures under Article 41 in a United Nations Security 
     Council Resolution after its meeting on September 10, 2016;
       Whereas President Barack Obama stated in response to the 
     nuclear test that ``far from achieving its stated national 
     security and economic development goals, North Korea's 
     provocative and destabilizing actions have instead served to 
     isolate and impoverish its people through its relentless 
     pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile 
     capabilities'';
       Whereas Secretary of State John Kerry stated in response to 
     the nuclear test that ``the D.P.R.K.'s repeated and willful 
     violations of its obligations under U.N. Security Council 
     Resolutions, its belligerent and erratic threats, and web of 
     illicit activities around the world indicate it has no 
     interest in participating in global affairs as a responsible 
     member of the international community'';
       Whereas United States Ambassador to the United Nations 
     Samantha Power stated in explanation of the vote on United 
     Nations Security Council Resolution 2270 that ``the chronic 
     suffering of the people of North Korea is the direct result 
     of the choices made by the DPRK government, a government that 
     has consistently prioritized its nuclear weapons and 
     ballistic missile programs over providing for the most basic 
     needs of its own people . . . the North Korean government 
     would rather grow its nuclear weapons program than grow its 
     children'';
       Whereas Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye stated, 
     in response to the nuclear test, ``North Korea's nuclear 
     test, already the second this year, cannot be regarded as 
     anything else but a direct defiance against the international 
     community . . . the nuclear threat posed by North Korea is an 
     urgent and present threat. Accordingly, our and the 
     international community's response too should now be 
     completely different from before.'';
       Whereas Congress passed the North Korea Sanctions and 
     Policy Enhancement Act (NKSPEA) on February 18, 2016 (Public 
     Law 114-122);
       Whereas NKSPEA imposes mandatory sanctions on individuals 
     who contribute to North Korea's nuclear program, 
     proliferation activities, malicious cyberattacks, and human 
     rights abuses;
       Whereas, on June 1 2016, the Department of the Treasury 
     designated North Korea as a ``primary money laundering 
     concern'' under section 5318A of title 31, United States 
     Code;
       Whereas, on July 6, 2016, the Department of the Treasury 
     designated top officials of the North Korean regime, 
     including North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, ten other 
     individuals, and five entities, for their role as 
     perpetrators of human rights abuses in North Korea; and
       Whereas additional measures to further curtail North 
     Korea's access to international financial markets, further 
     impede trade that benefits the Government of North Korea, 
     government and party officials, and military entities, and 
     freeze assets of North Korean officials are available both 
     through already authorized unilateral United States policy, 
     including secondary sanctions on entities that facilitate 
     trade with North Korea and designations for actions which 
     undermine cybersecurity, and through the United Nations 
     Security Council: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns the North Korean regime for continuing its 
     dangerous provocations, focusing solely on the advancement of 
     its nuclear and missile capabilities while violating the 
     human rights of its people;
       (2) calls on the North Korean regime to immediately and 
     unconditionally meet its obligation to abandon its nuclear 
     weapons and missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and 
     irreversible manner;

[[Page S5850]]

       (3) calls on China to exercise its significant economic and 
     diplomatic leverage over the DPRK, including through the 
     aggressive enforcement of existing United Nations Security 
     Council resolutions, in order to halt North Korea's illegal 
     nuclear and missile programs;
       (4) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to 
     defending allies in the region, including through deployment 
     of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to 
     the Republic of Korea and joint United States-Japan efforts 
     to develop the next generation of missile defense 
     interceptors, including the Standard Missile 3;
       (5) reinforces longstanding United States commitments to 
     provide extended deterrence, guaranteed by the full spectrum 
     of United States defense capabilities, to the Republic of 
     Korea and Japan;
       (6) supports ongoing efforts to strengthen the United 
     States-Republic of Korea alliance, to protect the 28,500 
     members of the United States Armed Forces stationed on the 
     Korean Peninsula, and to defend the alliance against any and 
     all provocations committed by the North Korean regime; and
       (7) calls on all members of the United Nations Security 
     Council to take immediate action to pass additional and 
     meaningful new measures under Article 41 of the United 
     Nations Charter, including--
       (A) stricter measures to eliminate exceptions in current 
     United Nation Security Council resolution sanctions;
       (B) further restrictions on imports and exports of such 
     sectoral commodities as coal, iron, and precious metals and 
     the prohibition on fuel oil exports to North Korea;
       (C) elimination of access for entities involved in North 
     Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs to 
     international financial markets and banking;
       (D) restrictions on the use of North Korean subcontractors 
     in global supply chains, particularly in the textile and 
     apparel industry;
       (E) restrictions on the supply of aviation fuel and a ban 
     on civilian aviation;
       (F) a ban on bulk cash transfers to and from North Korea;
       (G) prevention of the use of North Korean labor in third-
     country projects and agreements; and
       (H) a downgrading of North Korean diplomatic 
     representation.

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