WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement in response to today’s Treasury Department sanctions designation of Kim Jong Un and other top North Korean government officials:
“If there was any question, today’s actions by the Departments of State and Treasury directly link North Korea’s highest ranking officials to systemic torture, forced starvation, and numerous other gross violations of human rights -- violations the world should not stand for. With support of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016, which I am proud to have coauthored, Congress has spoken in near unanimity: Kim Jong Un’s actions, his flagrant disregard for international will and his abuse and exploitation of the people of North Korea comes with consequences. And while there is no substitute for American leadership on issues of human rights, I urge our partners and allies around the world to take similar steps to pressure North Korea’s regime. So long as Kim continues on the same course, he should know that there will be no rewards, only tightening sanctions that will continue to isolate his regime and those who profit from its cruelty.”
The designation comes in light of the State Department’s issuance of the Report on Serious Human Rights Abuses or Censorship in North Korea, which came as a result of the bipartisan North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016, which Senator Menendez authored. The bill unanimously passed the Senate in February 2016 and was signed into law earlier this year. The Treasury Department’s designation will result in any property or interest in property of those designated by OFAC within U.S. jurisdiction being frozen. Additionally, transactions by U.S. persons involving the designated persons are generally prohibited.
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