Senate OKs N. Korea sanctions

WASHINGTON -- Republican and Democratic senators set aside their partisan differences Wednesday to unanimously pass legislation aimed at depriving North Korea of the money it needs to build an atomic arsenal.

The Senate approved the sanctions bill 96-0 after lawmakers repeatedly denounced Pyongyang for flouting international law by pursuing nuclear weapons.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said that for too long North Korea has been dismissed as a strange country run by irrational leaders. "It's time to take North Korea seriously," Menendez said.

The Senate bill, written by Menendez and Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., targets North Korea's ability to finance the development of miniaturized nuclear warheads and the long-range missiles required to deliver them. The legislation also authorizes $50 million over the next five years to transmit radio broadcasts into North Korea, purchase communications equipment and support humanitarian assistance programs.

The legislation comes after North Korea's recent satellite launch and technical advances that U.S. intelligence agencies said the reclusive Asian nation is making in its nuclear weapons program.

Gardner said the U.S. policy of "strategic patience" with North Korea has failed. "The situation in the Korea peninsula is at its most unstable point since the armistice," said Gardner, referring to the 1953 agreement to end fighting on the peninsula. The North and South remain in a technical state of war.

The House overwhelmingly approved North Korean sanctions legislation last month. While there are differences in the two bills, Sen. Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he does not expect any difficulty in producing a final measure.

The House sent the Senate a bill that was very strong and "we've been able to improve it," said Corker, R-Tenn. "I think they'll be happy with those improvements."

GOP senators and presidential candidates Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida rushed back from the campaign to vote, but Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont missed the vote. He issued a statement expressing his support for the legislation.

Also missing the vote were Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

Both Arkansas' senators were on hand for the vote.

Sen. John Boozman praised the legislation as a "proactive approach" after the White House's "failure of leadership" in dealing with North Korea's aggression.

"The unanimous passage of this bill sends a strong message to the dictators of the world -- there is going to be a price to pay if you act out in this recklessly aggressive manner," he said in a statement.

Sen. Tom Cotton also lauded the bill but said it was only the "first step" toward stabilizing the region.

"The United States must also speed efforts to deploy new missile defenses in Asia, form closer partnerships with our allies in the region, and make clear to China that its failure to pressure the Kim regime will invite its own costs," he said in a statement. "We must not lose urgency -- we must deal with North Korea now before it develops its nuclear capabilities any further."

North Korea already faces wide-ranging sanctions from the United States and under existing U.N. resolutions is prohibited from trading in weapons and importing luxury goods.

The new legislation seeks additional sanctions -- both mandatory and at the discretion of the president -- against the government of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and those who assist it.

It would require the investigation and punishment of those who knowingly import into North Korea any goods or technology related to weapons of mass destruction; those who engage in human-rights abuses, money laundering and counterfeiting that supports the Kim regime; and those who engage in "cyber-terrorism."

The bill also bans foreign assistance to any country that provides lethal military equipment to North Korea, and targets Pyongyang's trade in key industrial commodities.

U.S. experts have estimated that North Korea may have about 10 bombs.

Japanese sanctions

Separately, Japan's National Security Council on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on North Korea, including a ban on all North Korean ships from entering the country.

Those sanctions will include expanded restrictions on travel between the two countries and a complete ban on visits by North Korean ships to Japanese ports, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a news conference.

"Despite our repeated requests to stop nuclear tests and missile development, [North Korea] pushed ahead with the launch. It has a direct impact on Japan and we need to show our strong determination," Suga said. He said, however, that Japan will keep a door open for dialogue to resolve the still-outstanding issue of Japanese citizens who were abducted by North Korea decades ago.

Suga said the sanctions would be approved by the Cabinet later, and also would require legislative changes in parliament.

North Korea on Sunday launched a long-range rocket carrying an Earth observation satellite into space. The launch, which came about a month after the country's fourth nuclear test, was quickly condemned by world leaders as a potential threat to regional and global security.

Washington, Seoul and others consider the launch a banned test of missile technology. That assessment is based on Pyongyang's efforts to manufacture nuclear-tipped missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland; the technology used to launch a rocket carrying a satellite into space can be applied to fire a long-range missile.

'Other measures'

The White House director for Asian affairs, Daniel Kritenbrink, told reporters Wednesday that discussions are continuing at the U.N. Security Council to impose new sanctions on North Korea, and the U.S. is considering "other unilateral measures." He did not elaborate on what those measures might be.

The principal action President Barack Obama's administration has taken to date in response to the nuclear and rocket tests has been to start discussions with close ally South Korea on deploying a new missile defense system.

But U.N. experts say North Korea is continuing to evade U.N. sanctions, using airlines, ships, and the international financial system to trade in prohibited items for its missile programs

The experts monitoring sanctions against the North say Pyongyang also continues to export ballistic missile-related items to the Middle East and trade in arms and related material to Africa.

A summary of the expert panel's report, obtained Tuesday, says one reason North Korea is able to keep evading sanctions is "the low level of implementation" by the 193 U.N. member states of the four U.N. sanctions resolutions adopted since the country's first nuclear test in 2006.

The panel said the reasons for non-implementation are diverse including "lack of political will," inadequate national legislation, lack of understanding of the Security Council resolutions, and "low prioritization." The report and its conclusions "raise important questions about the overall efficacy of the sanctions regime," it said.

The experts' summary said Pyongyang conceals illicit activities by embedding agents in foreign companies and using diplomatic personnel, long-standing trade partners, and relationships with a small number of trusted foreigners.

The experts said North Korea's Ocean Maritime Management Company Ltd. "continues to operate through foreign-flagged vessels, name and company re-registrations, and the rental of crews to foreign ships," despite being on the U.N. sanctions blacklist since July 2014.

Information for this article was contributed by Richard Lardner, Donna Cassata, Matthew Pennington, Mari Yamaguchi and Edith M. Lederer of The Associated Press and by staff members of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

A Section on 02/11/2016