Report on humanitarian exemptions to sanctions imposed with respect to North Korea

(a) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the continued pursuit by the North Korean regime of weapons of mass destruction (including nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons), in addition to its ballistic missile program, along with the regime's gross violations of human rights, have led the international community to impose sanctions with respect to North Korea, including sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council; (2) authorities should grant exemptions for humanitarian assistance to the people of North Korea consistent with past United Nations Security Council resolutions; and (3) humanitarian assistance intended to provide humanitarian relief to the people of North Korea must not be exploited or misdirected by the North Korean regime to benefit the military or elites of North Korea. (b) Reports required (1) Defined term In this subsection, the term covered period means— (A) in the case of the first report required to be submitted under paragraph (2), the period beginning on January 1, 2018, and ending on the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act; and (B) in the case of each subsequent report required to be submitted under paragraph (2), the 1-year period preceding the date by which the report is required to be submitted. (2) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the following 2 years, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to Congress that— (A) describes— (i) how the North Korean regime has previously exploited humanitarian assistance from the international community to benefit elites and the military in North Korea; (ii) the most effective methods to provide humanitarian relief, including mechanisms to facilitate humanitarian assistance, to the people of North Korea, who are in dire need of such assistance; (iii) any requests to the Committee of the United Nations Security Council established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718 (2006) (referred to in this section as the 1718 Sanctions Committee) for humanitarian exemptions from sanctions known to have been denied during the covered period or known to have been in process for more than 30 days as of the date of the report; and (iv) any known explanations for the denials and delays referred to in clause (iii); and (B) details any action by a foreign government during the covered period that has delayed or impeded humanitarian assistance that was approved by the 1718 Sanctions Committee.