House Approves Gabbard-Backed North Korea Sanctions

Statement

The U.S. House of Representatives today approved North Korean sanctions co-sponsored by Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02). The North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2014 (H.R. 1771) requires the President to impose targeted sanctions on people or entities in other countries that contribute directly or indirectly to weapons development, arms trafficking, money laundering, and human rights abuses in North Korea.

"As North Korea continues to make threats and conduct missile launches, we must take action to cut off their supply lines and sources of financial support," said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who traveled to the Korean Peninsula in April with a congressional delegation. "The North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act will impose sanctions on the people or nations that support North Korea's dangerous nuclear ambitions and threaten people throughout the Asia-Pacific and the U.S., including Hawai"i. By putting these robust sanctions in place, we can target those who directly, or through willful negligence, enable North Korea to produce these missiles and nuclear delivery systems."

H.R. 1771 also directs the U.S. Treasury Department to restrict access to the U.S. financial system for North Korean banks and third party enablers. Sanctions can be waived for humanitarian aid and when a waiver supports U.S. national interests.

"In my recent travels to the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, I spoke with our partners and heard firsthand their concerns about North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and the instability this wreaks on the region. In Hawai"i, and throughout the Pacific, we share these concerns and must take a firm stand to stop the flow of money, weapons technology, and supplies into North Korea," said Congresswoman Gabbard.

Last weekend, on the eve of the 61st anniversary of the armistice agreement that suspended the Korean War, North Korea reportedly conducted a short-range ballistic missile launch. North Korea has conducted fifteen missile tests so far in 2014.

Source