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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued the following statement regarding his vote today in support of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016:

“North Korea is one of the greatest threats to our national security.  The regime of Kim Jong-un continues to conduct missile and nuclear tests, proliferate sensitive technology to state sponsors of terrorism like Iran, and has conducted massive cyberattacks against the United States and our allies.

“Unfortunately, administrations of both political parties have failed to roll back the threat North Korea poses and have allowed this rogue regime to develop even more dangerous capabilities.  North Korea now has a growing nuclear arsenal and missiles capable of hitting the United States.

“Passage of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 is a first step toward applying more pressure to North Korea and those who do business with this corrupt regime.  I was pleased to work with Senator Cory Gardner to specifically target the industries that North Korea uses to earn hard currency and to strengthen the bill’s provisions related to raising awareness of the plight of the North Korean people and funding activities to promote their human rights.

“I urge President Obama to fully implement this bill and to take other steps, such as return North Korea to the state sponsors of terrorism list and make it clear that more belligerent activity by Pyongyang will only result in additional U.S. pressure on the regime’s economic lifelines.”