[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 371-372]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                NORTH KOREA IS A STATE SPONSOR OF TERROR

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 9, 2015

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the saga with North Korea and its band 
of tyrants has gone on far too long.
  On November 24th, Sony Pictures Entertainment was attacked. No its 
headquarters were not bombed, nor did anyone storm the buildings. This 
was a cyber attack.
  It is believed to be the worst of its type on a company on U.S. soil. 
Hackers released personal data of Sony employees, disabled Sony's IT 
systems, and destroyed data.
  Shortly after, anonymous emails threatened movie-goers hoping to see 
the Sony film, ``The Interview''. These threats warned about ``9/11-
style'' terrorist attacks.
  A little over a month later, on December 29, the FBI said North Korea 
was responsible for the cyber attack.
  Contrary to what the President has called ``cyber vandalism'', this 
cyber terrorism deserves a bold, immediate response.
  The world's dictators and terrorists must know without a doubt that 
an attack--cyber or physical--on the U.S. will result in a devastating 
response. This starts with the little dictator of Pyongyang, Kim Jong-
Un.

[[Page 372]]

  It needs to immediately put North Korea back on the State Sponsors of 
Terrorism list. Representative Ros-Lehtinen has a bill that puts tough 
sanctions on North Korea and urges the Administration to put North 
Korea back on the list. I am an original cosponsor of the bill.
  There is no doubt that North Korea belongs on the State Sponsors of 
Terrorism list.
  In July 2009, UAE officials discovered a North Korean ship full of 
weapons heading to Iran.
  Iran has been on the state sponsor of terrorism list since 1984 
because it provides hundreds of millions of dollars and tons of weapons 
to terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. So when one hears about 
North Korea sending weapons to Iran, it is not a typical transfer of 
weapons. This is about giving a recognized state sponsor of terrorism 
more guns to put in the hands of known and designated terrorist groups.
  Five months after the UAE seizure, Thai authorities found 35 tons of 
North Korean weapons on a plane, also traveling to Iran and ultimately 
bound for delivery to foreign terrorist organizations Hezbollah and 
Hamas.
  In April 2010, South Korean officials apprehended two North Korean 
military-trained agents who had orders to assassinate a defector from 
North Korea.
  On March 26, 2010, North Korea sunk a South Korean naval vessel, 
killing 46 sailors.
  On November 23, 2010 North Korea repeatedly bombed a small South 
Korean island, killing two civilians and two marines.
  So far, as punishment for the cyber attack on Sony, the President 
sanctioned ten individuals and three organizations tied to North 
Korea's intelligence, arms supply, and defense research.
  These sanctions are not enough. Other people or organizations not 
sanctioned by the U.S. can easily take over the same work.
  Reinstating North Korea on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list would 
deepen existing sanctions and could deliver a crippling blow to the 
little dictator of Pyonyang.
  This Administration cannot allow the United States to be bullied 
again and again.
  The West allowed Putin into Ukraine. We have watched ISIS behead our 
journalists. We have seen Americans die in Israel at the hands of 
Hamas.
  Now, we have let North Korea silence us.
  To have a country on the other side of the world not just threaten 
but actually take away one of America's most fundamental rights is 
outrageous.
  It is time to stop appeasing our enemies.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________