Legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) to slap strict financial sanctions on North Korea for threats to the United States cleared the House on Tuesday with support from U.S. Reps. Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
Named for an American student who died shortly after his release from more than a year of captivity in North Korea, the Otto Warmbier North Korea Nuclear Sanctions Act would impose far-reaching sanctions against North Korea, and it would establish new diplomatic and economic tools to ensure sanctions are enforced.
Under the bill, the Treasury Department would prohibit any U.S. financial institution from conducting transactions that benefit North Korea. It would also ban financial aid to any foreign government that knowingly fails to implement economic and financial sanctions on North Korea, with the exception of providing assistance for basic human needs.
“North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, illicit missile tests and other aggressive actions represent a threat to the national security of the United States and the world,” Barr said.
North Korea’s nuclear test in September, its sixth, demonstrated an estimated explosive power more than 100 times greater than that generated by its first nuclear test in 2006, according to Congress’s findings that are detailed in the bill. North Korea also is progressing in developing a nuclear-armed missile that is capable of reaching the United States.
The legislation passed by the House would hold North Korea accountable by imposing sanctions that put pressure on the Kim Jong-Un regime and foreign entities that support it. “In doing so, we can deny North Korea the financing it needs to fund its nuclear and missile programs,” Barr said, applauding the bipartisan support the sanctions bill garnered.
“North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile capabilities is a direct threat to America and all of our allies,” House Majority Whip Scalise said. “The Otto Warmbier North Korea Nuclear Sanctions Act will further cut off Kim Jong-Un’s ability to access additional financial resources and will sanction anyone who is complicit in the regime’s provocative and destabilizing actions.”
House Majority Leader McCarthy said that by enacting secondary sanctions to cut off financing for Pyongyang’s weapons program, Congress is sending a clear message to anyone who supports the North Korean regime.
“Those who do business with North Korea support a brutal dictatorship that tortured and murdered Otto Warmbier — not because he committed a crime or threatened the North Korean government in any way, but because he was an American,” McCarthy said. “If you support a regime that indiscriminately murders Americans, there will be hard consequences.”