U.S. senators introduce new N. Korea sanctions legislation

By Chang Jae-soon

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- A group of U.S. senators, including presidential hopeful Marco Rubio, introduced legislation Tuesday calling for imposing new sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear program, human rights abuses and cyber attacks.

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) led the introduction of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2015, with Rubio (R-FL) and Jim Risch (R-ID) as co-sponsors, saying the U.S. should not forget "the severe risk posed by the nuclear-armed and increasingly belligerent regime."

"The regime is a menace to the region and to its own people, with a disturbing record of human rights violations. We need a stronger, more focused policy on North Korea, and if the Administration is unwilling to provide it, Congress must act," Gardner said in a press release.

The new sanctions called for under the legislation would apply the "pressure required to change North Korea's behavior, and would mandate that the United States finally have a unified strategy for dealing with North Korean cyber attacks," the senator said.

"We can't go any longer without a serious plan to deal with this threat. It's time to get serious," he said.

In addition to sanctions, the bill also states that it is the policy of the United States to vigorously pursue sanctions against the North Korean government in order to peacefully disarm the North Korean regime, according to the release.

The legislation also requires the president to submit a strategy to counter North Korean cyber-related attacks and impose U.S. sanctions on cyber criminals, while codifying two executive orders released earlier this year authorizing sanctions against entities undermining U.S. national and economic security in cyberspace, it said.

The bill also calls for the State Department to identify human rights abusers in North Korea and submit a report on the North Korean regimes' political prison camps.

"While the world is distracted by other bad actors, the North Korean regime continues to flagrantly conduct illegal arms sales, proliferate sensitive technology, expand its nuclear weapons program, conduct cyber attacks and repress the North Korean people," Rubio said. "The United States must continue to stand against Kim Jong Un's tyrannical regime and work to pressure North Korea's leadership to end the modern day gulags that should haunt our consciences."

Calling North Korea "one of the biggest nuclear threats" to the U.S., Risch accused the administration of President Barack Obama of failure to take "this threat seriously" while focusing on "a bad deal with Iran."

"It is time for the United States to increase pressure on North Korea and require them to end their nuclear program, stop the cyber-attacks against us, and respect the human rights of their own citizens," he said. "This legislation will help create a clear strategy and impose the same type of sanctions that drove Iran to the negotiating table."

The new legislation is similar to a North Korea sanctions bill that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced in July. A similar bill was also introduced in the House of Representatives early this year by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

jschang@yna.co.kr
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