Title 22Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-73

§9241 Strategy to promote North Korean human rights

Title 22 › Chapter CHAPTER 99— - NORTH KOREA SANCTIONS AND POLICY ENHANCEMENT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - PROMOTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS › § 9241

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of State must, within 120 days after October 25, 2018, and then from time to time after that, send a report to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The Secretary must work with other federal departments and agencies to write the report. The report must include three lists: countries that force North Korean refugees back to North Korea; countries where North Korean workers are sent, including those with formal agreements with North Korea or its agents; and foreign persons who knowingly employ North Korean workers (see section 9214(g)(1)(C)). The report must also give a plan to step up diplomatic outreach with partners, run public information campaigns with media and speeches, and work with nonprofits and businesses to raise awareness and help North Korean defectors.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §9241

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Not later than 120 days after October 25, 2018, and periodically thereafter, the Secretary of State, in coordination with other appropriate Federal departments and agencies, shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report that details a United States strategy to promote initiatives to enhance international awareness of and to address the human rights situation in North Korea.
(b)The report required under subsection (a) should include—
(1)a list of countries that forcibly repatriate refugees from North Korea;
(2)a list of countries where North Korean laborers work, including countries the governments of which have formal arrangements with the Government of North Korea or any person acting for or on behalf of that Government to employ North Korean workers; and
(3)a list of foreign persons that knowingly employ North Korean laborers, as described in section 9214(g)(1)(C) of this title.
(c)The report required under subsection (a) should include—
(1)a plan to enhance bilateral and multilateral outreach, including sustained engagement with the governments of partners and allies with overseas posts to routinely demarche or brief those governments on North Korea human rights issues, including forced labor, trafficking, and repatriation of citizens of North Korea;
(2)public affairs and public diplomacy campaigns, including options to work with news organizations and media outlets to publish opinion pieces and secure public speaking opportunities for United States Government officials on issues related to the human rights situation in North Korea, including forced labor, trafficking, and repatriation of citizens of North Korea; and
(3)opportunities to coordinate and collaborate with appropriate nongovernmental organizations and private sector entities to raise awareness and provide assistance to North Korean defectors throughout the world.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2019—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 116–92 substituted “section 9214(g)(1)(C)” for “section 9214(b)(1)(M)”. 2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–272 substituted “Not later than 120 days after
October 25, 2018, and periodically thereafter” for “Not later than 180 days after
February 18, 2016”. 2017—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 115–44 added par. (3).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Additional Determinations; Reports Pub. L. 115–44, title III, § 321(a)(2), Aug. 2, 2017, 131 Stat. 951, provided that: “With respect to any country identified in section 302(b)(2) of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9241(b)(2)), as amended by paragraph (1), the report required under section 302(a) of such Act shall— “(A) include a determination whether each person identified in section 302(b)(3) of such Act (as amended by paragraph (1)) who is a national or a citizen of such identified country meets the criteria for sanctions under—“(i) section 111 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7108) (relating to the prevention of trafficking in persons); or “(ii) section 104(a) or 104(b)(1) of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9214(a)[, (b)(1)]), as amended by section 101 of this Act; “(B) be included in the report required under section 110(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)) (relating to the annual report on trafficking in persons); and “(C) be considered in any determination that the government of such country has made serious and sustained efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons, as such term is defined for purposes of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 [22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.].”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 9241

Title 22Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73