WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), and Judd Gregg (R-NH) today introduced legislation which would impose economic sanctions against North Korea and expand strategic and military cooperation with South Korea and Japan. The legislation would also require the redesignation by the U.S. State Department of North Korea as a state sponsor of terror.

Senator Brownback said, "The North Korean regime, led by Kim Jong Il, for years has brutally oppressed its own citizens and terrorized other nations. The Kim Jong Il regime has illegally launched missiles; detonated nuclear weapons; kidnapped two American citizens and sentenced them to hard labor; proliferated nuclear and ballistic material to Syria and Iran; aided Hezbollah and other terrorist groups; and continues to imprison thousands of its own citizens in a vast gulag. The United States must take bold, unequivocal action to hold this regime accountable and to end its reign of terror in North Korea." Senator Kyl said, "Senator Brownback's bill rightly restores an appropriate policy toward an aggressive North Korean regime, especial given its recent nuclear and missile tests, as well as its refusal to participate in the six-party process."

Senator Gregg said, "It is critical that North Korea be held accountable for their increasingly hostile and erratic behavior. The regime continues to threaten its neighbors, our allies, and international peace and security. This legislation smartly addresses the threat posed by North Korea and demonstrates our commitment to global security."

Last month, the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to apply new sanctions against North Korea in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile tests, which were in direct violation of international treaty. Early in June, two American journalists, who had been arrested near the China-North Korea border, were sentenced to twelve years of hard labor in a North Korean prison.