US Congress fails to extend North Korean Human Rights Act

FILE — North Koreans on a bus say goodbye to their South Korean relatives after the Separated Family Reunion Meeting in North Korea, Aug. 26, 2018. The U.S. Congress did not pass a bill that would have reunited Korean Americans with their families in North Korea.

The U.S. Congress once again failed to pass a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act, or NKHRA, painting a bleak picture for the future of the measure originally adopted by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush in 2004 to ensure the U.S. continues to promote basic freedoms of speech, press and religion in North Korea.