Korean American Congresswoman Young Kim (left) and Congressman Ami Bera. Yonhap News.

A bill has been introduced to revive the North Korean Human Rights Act, which has been suspended for over three years due to legislative failure in the United States.

On November 7 (local time), Rep. Young Kim (Republican, California), chair of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced a bill to reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004.

Rep. Ami Bera (California), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific and a prominent supporter of Korea, was listed as a co-sponsor.

The North Korean Human Rights Act, which includes provisions for efforts to reunite Korean American families separated by the Korean War, the appointment of a Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights, support for broadcast media for information freedom in North Korea, and humanitarian aid to North Korean residents, was enacted as a temporary law in 2004.

Subsequently, reauthorization bills were passed three times, in 2008, 2012, and 2018, but it expired on August 30, 2022.

Since then, reauthorization bills have been introduced one after another, but legislative gaps have persisted for over three years as they failed to pass due to reasons such as delays in committee review.

Yonhap News