Ed Royce: “For far too long the world has ignored the significant human rights abuses that occur almost every single day in North…”

“For far too long the world has ignored the significant human rights abuses that occur almost every single day in North Korea. Increasingly, as people escape, we begin to get some sense of what life is like for the hundreds of thousands that live in these concentration camps. By turning a blind eye to what is going on in North Korea, we, and the rest of the world, risk missing an opportunity to hold the Kim regime responsible for its terrible crimes against humanity. This legislation is a chance to hold them responsible for those crimes against their own people. We have an opportunity here to cut off the hard currency that goes right to the leadership in this regime. They depend on that hard currency. Earlier this year, the U.N. Commission of Inquiry laid out the most damning case against North Korea. Internationally, communities were shocked by the revelations in this Commission of Inquiry. As chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I have met with a number of North Korean defectors and refugees over the years. I have heard their stories. We have had some of them testify here in the House of Representatives. I have seen North Korea with my own eyes. I have seen the malnutrition engineered by the regime, while the money goes into their nuclear arms program and their military buildup. Listen. The message from the defectors and the survivors are remarkably similar. What they tell us is: please help us. By supporting H.R.…”