22 USC 9212 - Investigations

Collapse to view only § 9212. Investigations

§ 9211. Statement of policy
§ 9212. Investigations
§ 9213. Reporting requirements
§ 9214. Designation of persons

§ 9211. Statement of policy

In order to achieve the peaceful disarmament of North Korea, Congress finds that it is necessary—

(1) to encourage all member states of the United Nations to fully and promptly implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 2094 (2013);

(2) to sanction the persons, including financial institutions, that facilitate proliferation, illicit activities, arms trafficking, cyberterrorism, imports of luxury goods, serious human rights abuses, cash smuggling, and censorship by the Government of North Korea;

(3) to authorize the President to sanction persons who fail to exercise due diligence to ensure that such financial institutions and member states do not facilitate proliferation, arms trafficking, kleptocracy, or imports of luxury goods by the Government of North Korea;

(4) to deny the Government of North Korea access to the funds it uses to develop or obtain nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, cyberwarfare capabilities, and luxury goods instead of providing for the needs of the people of North Korea; and

(5) to enforce sanctions in a manner that does not significantly hinder or delay the efforts of legitimate United States or foreign humanitarian organizations from providing assistance to meet the needs of civilians facing humanitarian crisis, including access to food, health care, shelter, and clean drinking water, to prevent or alleviate human suffering.

(Pub. L. 114–122, title I, § 101, Feb. 18, 2016, 130 Stat. 98.)

§ 9212. Investigations

(a) Initiation

(b) Personnel

The President may direct the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the heads of other Federal departments and agencies as may be necessary to assign sufficient experienced and qualified investigators, attorneys, and technical personnel—

(1) to investigate the conduct described in subsections (a), (b), and (g) of section 9214 of this title; and

(2) to coordinate and ensure the effective enforcement of this chapter.

(Pub. L. 114–122, title I, § 102, Feb. 18, 2016, 130 Stat. 98; Pub. L. 116–92, div. F, title LXXI, § 7122(b)(2), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 2248.)

§ 9213. Reporting requirements

(a) Presidential briefings to Congress

(b) Report from Secretary of State

Not later than 180 days after February 18, 2016, the Secretary of State shall conduct, coordinate, and submit to Congress a comprehensive report on United States policy towards North Korea that—

(1) is based on a full and complete interagency review of current policies and possible alternatives, including with respect to North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and missile programs, human rights atrocities, and significant activities undermining cybersecurity; and

(2) includes recommendations for such legislative or administrative action as the Secretary considers appropriate based on the results of the review.

(Pub. L. 114–122, title I, § 103, Feb. 18, 2016, 130 Stat. 98.)

§ 9214. Designation of persons

(a) Mandatory designationsExcept as provided in section 9228 of this title, the President shall designate under this subsection any person that the President determines—

(1) knowingly, directly or indirectly, imports, exports, or reexports to, into, or from North Korea any goods, services, or technology controlled for export by the United States because of the use of such goods, services, or technology for weapons of mass destruction or delivery systems for such weapons and materially contributes to the use, development, production, possession, or acquisition by any person of a nuclear, radiological, chemical, or biological weapon or any device or system designed in whole or in part to deliver such a weapon;

(2) knowingly, directly or indirectly, provides training, advice, or other services or assistance, or engages in significant financial transactions, relating to the manufacture, maintenance, or use of any such weapon, device, or system to be imported, exported, or reexported to, into, or from North Korea;

(3) knowingly, directly or indirectly, imports, exports, or reexports luxury goods to or into North Korea;

(4) knowingly engages in, is responsible for, or facilitates censorship by the Government of North Korea;

(5) knowingly engages in, is responsible for, or facilitates serious human rights abuses by the Government of North Korea;

(6) knowingly, directly or indirectly, engages in money laundering, the counterfeiting of goods or currency, bulk cash smuggling, or narcotics trafficking that supports the Government of North Korea or any senior official or person acting for or on behalf of that Government;

(7) knowingly engages in significant activities undermining cybersecurity through the use of computer networks or systems against foreign persons, governments, or other entities on behalf of the Government of North Korea;

(8) knowingly, directly or indirectly, sells, supplies, or transfers to or from the Government of North Korea or any person acting for or on behalf of that Government, a significant amount of precious metal, graphite, raw or semi-finished metals or alumispan, steel, coal, or software, for use by or in industrial processes directly related to weapons of mass destruction and delivery systems for such weapons, other proliferation activities, the Korean Workers’ Party, armed forces, internal security, or intelligence activities, or the operation and maintenance of political prison camps or forced labor camps, including outside of North Korea;

(9) knowingly, directly or indirectly, imports, exports, or reexports to, into, or from North Korea any arms or related materiel or any defense article or defense service (as such terms are defined in section 2794 of this title);

(10) knowingly, directly or indirectly, purchases or otherwise acquires from North Korea any significant amounts of gold, titanium ore, vanadium ore, copper, silver, nickel, zinc, or rare earth minerals;

(11) knowingly, directly or indirectly, sells or transfers to North Korea any significant amounts of rocket, aviation, or jet fuel (except for use by a civilian passenger aircraft outside North Korea, exclusively for consumption during its flight to North Korea or its return flight);

(12) knowingly, directly or indirectly, provides significant amounts of fuel or supplies, provides bunkering services, or facilitates a significant transaction or transactions to operate or maintain, a vessel or aircraft that is designated under an applicable Executive order or an applicable United Nations Security Council resolution, or that is owned or controlled by a person designated under an applicable Executive order or applicable United Nations Security Council resolution;

(13) knowingly, directly or indirectly, insures, registers, facilitates the registration of, or maintains insurance or a registration for, a vessel owned or controlled by the Government of North Korea, except as specifically approved by the United Nations Security Council;

(14) knowingly, directly or indirectly, maintains a correspondent account (as defined in section 9221a(d)(1) of this title) with any North Korean financial institution, except as specifically approved by the United Nations Security Council; or

(15) knowingly attempts to engage in any of the conduct described in paragraphs (1) through (14).

(b) Additional discretionary designations

(1) Prohibited conduct describedExcept as provided in section 9228 of this title, the President may designate under this subsection any person that the President determines—

(A) knowingly engages in, contributes to, assists, sponsors, or provides financial, material or technological support for, or goods and services in support of, any person designated pursuant to—

(i) an applicable United Nations Security Council resolution;

(ii) any regulation promulgated under section 9254 of this title; or

(iii) any applicable Executive order;

(B) knowingly contributed to—

(i) the bribery of an official of the Government of North Korea or any person acting for on behalf of that official;

(ii) the misappropriation, theft, or embezzlement of public funds by, or for the benefit of, an official of the Government of North Korea or any person acting for or on behalf of that official; or

(iii) the use of any proceeds of any activity described in clause (i) or (ii);

(C) knowingly and materially assisted, sponsored, or provided significant financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the activities described in subparagraph (A) or (B);

(D) knowingly, directly or indirectly, purchased or otherwise acquired from the Government of North Korea significant quantities of coal, iron, or iron ore, in excess of the limitations provided in applicable United Nations Security Council resolutions;

(E) knowingly, directly or indirectly, purchased or otherwise acquired significant types or amounts of textiles from the Government of North Korea;

(F) knowingly facilitated a significant transfer of funds or property of the Government of North Korea that materially contributes to any violation of an applicable United National 1

1 So in original. Probably should be “Nations”.

Security Council resolution;

(G) knowingly, directly or indirectly, facilitated a significant transfer to or from the Government of North Korea of bulk cash, precious metals, gemstones, or other stores of value not described under subsection (a)(10);

(H) knowingly, directly or indirectly, sold, transferred, or otherwise provided significant amounts of crude oil, condensates, refined petroleum, other types of petroleum or petroleum byproducts, liquified natural gas, or other natural gas resources to the Government of North Korea (except for heavy fuel oil, gasoline, or diesel fuel for humanitarian use or as excepted under subsection (a)(11));

(I) knowingly, directly or indirectly, engaged in, facilitated, or was responsible for the online commercial activities of the Government of North Korea, including online gambling;

(J) knowingly, directly or indirectly, purchased or otherwise acquired fishing rights from the Government of North Korea;

(K) knowingly, directly or indirectly, purchased or otherwise acquired significant types or amounts of food or agricultural products from the Government of North Korea;

(L) knowingly, directly or indirectly, engaged in, facilitated, or was responsible for the exportation of workers from North Korea in a manner intended to generate significant revenue, directly or indirectly, for use by the Government of North Korea or by the Workers’ Party of Korea;

(M) knowingly conducted a significant transaction or transactions in North Korea’s transportation, mining, energy, or financial services industries; or

(N) except as specifically approved by the United Nations Security Council, and other than through a correspondent account as described in subsection (a)(14), knowingly facilitated the operation of any branch, subsidiary, or office of a North Korean financial institution.

(2) Effect of designationWith respect to any person designated under this subsection, the President may—

(A) apply the sanctions described in section 9224, 9225(c),2

2 See References in Text note below.

or 9226 of this title to the person to the same extent and in the same manner as if the person were designated under subsection (a);

(B) apply any applicable special measures described in section 5318A of title 31;

(i) that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; and

(ii) in which such person has any interest; and

(D) prohibit any transfers of credit or payments between financial institutions or by, through, or to any financial institution, to the extent that such transfers or payments—

(i) are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; and

(ii) involve any interest of such person.

(1) Mandatory asset blocking

(2) Discretionary asset blocking

(d) Application to subsidiaries and agents

(e) Transaction licensing

(f) Penalties

(g) Additional mandatory designations

(1) In generalExcept as provided in section 9228 of this title, the President shall designate under this subsection any person that the President determines—

(A) knowingly, directly or indirectly, engages in the importation from or exportation to North Korea of significant quantities of—

(i)(I) coal, textiles, seafood, iron, or iron ore; or(II) refined petroleum products or crude oil above limits set by the United Nations Security Council and with which the United States concurs; or

(ii) services or technology related to goods specified in clause (i);

(B) knowingly facilitates a significant transfer of funds or property of the Government of North Korea that materially contributes to any violation of an applicable United Nations Security Council resolution;

(C) knowingly, directly or indirectly, engages in, facilitates, or is responsible for the exportation of workers from North Korea, or the employment of such workers, in a manner that generates significant revenue, directly or indirectly, for use by the Government of North Korea or by the Workers’ Party of Korea;

(D) knowingly, directly or indirectly, sells or transfers a significant number of vessels to North Korea, except as specifically approved by the United Nations Security Council;

(E) knowingly engages in a significant activity to charter, insure, register, facilitate the registration of, or maintain insurance or a registration for, a vessel owned, controlled, commanded, or crewed by a North Korean person; or

(F) knowingly contributes to and participates in—

(i) a significant act of bribery of an official of the Government of North Korea or any person acting for or on behalf of that official;

(ii) the misappropriation, theft, or embezzlement of a significant amount of public funds by, or for the benefit of, an official of the Government of North Korea or any person acting for or on behalf of that official; or

(iii) the use of any proceeds of any activity described in subparagraph (A) or (B).

(Pub. L. 114–122, title I, § 104, Feb. 18, 2016, 130 Stat. 99; Pub. L. 115–44, title III, § 311(a), (b)(1), (c), Aug. 2, 2017, 131 Stat. 942, 944; Pub. L. 116–92, div. F, title LXXI, § 7122(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 2247.)