Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) today issued the following statement after the administration announced new sanctions on multiple Chinese entities and individuals that act as conduits for illicit North Korean financial activity:

“I have long called for sanctions on companies and banks that provide hard currency to sustain Kim Jong Un’s rule and grow his illicit nuclear and ballistic missiles programs. This is a big step. The administration is right to target any around the world who act as financial lifelines to Kim Jong Un, and to give them a clear choice: You can do business with North Korea or with the U.S., but not both.

“To cut off more cash to North Korea, the U.S. Senate needs to pass my bill to give the U.S. additional financial tools – including the ability to stop the North Korean regime’s export of slave labor.”

Note: The House of Representatives last month passed Chairman Royce’s Korean Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act (H.R. 1644) by a vote of 419-1. The bill:

  • Expands sanctions to deter North Korea’s nuclear weapons program;
  • Targets those overseas who employ North Korean slave labor, a source of billions of dollars in annual revenue for the regime;
  • Cracks down on North Korean shipping and use of international ports; and
  • Requires the administration to determine whether North Korea is a state sponsor of terrorism.

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