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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) joined U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and a group of senators last week in urging President Obama to impose secondary sanctions on countries that provide assistance to North Korea, especially in light of their latest nuclear weapons test.

In the letter, the senators express their concern that the Obama administration has not imposed secondary sanctions specifically on Chinese-based entities working with North Korea. They also pose a series of questions relating to the implementation of sanctions under the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act, which was passed unanimously by the Senate and signed into law in February 2016. The senators call for a new U.N. Security Council Resolution to close loopholes of previous resolutions, along with expedited deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea and strengthening of the trilateral alliance between the United States, Japan and South Korea.

“North Korea’s nuclear weapons program presents a clear threat to global security,” said Sen. Moran. “This month, the communist regime completed their fifth nuclear test – their fourth during President Obama’s term. Failure by the administration to impose secondary sanctions on those who assist North Korea simply enables the regime to grow in power and strength.”

Background
Sen. Moran spoke on the Senate floor in February about Congress’ role to curtail nuclear proliferation and testing – particularly in denunciation of North Korea’s immediate nuclear aspirations. This month, he joined a group of senators urging President Obama not to bypass the Senate in order to seek United Nationals Security Council endorsement of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which Congress rejected in 1999 and North Korea has not signed. In a letter to the president, Sen. Moran and colleagues asked the president to clarify if parties to the CTBT would abide by the treaty’s prohibitions.

The full text of the letter may be found here.

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