U.S. economic sanctions imposed on North Korea are instigated by that country's activities related to weapons proliferation, regional disruptions, anti-terrorism, and undemocratic governance. The sanctions have the following consequences for U.S.-North Korea relations: • Trade is minimal and mostly limited to food, medicine, and other humanitarian-related goods. North Korea has no advantageous trade status and is outright denied certain goods--including luxury goods--and trade financing, primarily due to its proliferation activities.

Congress has long been concerned about whether U.S. policy advances the national interest in reducing the role of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missiles that could deliver them. Recipients of China's technology reportedly include Pakistan and countries that the State Department says support terrorism, such as Iran and North Korea. This CRS Report, updated as warranted, discusses the security problem of China's role in weapons proliferation and issues related to the U.S. policy response since the mid-1990s.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously passed Res. 1874 on June 12, 2009, in response to North Koreas second nuclear test. The resolution puts in place a series of sanctions on North Koreas arms sales, luxury goods, and financial transactions related to its weapons programs, and calls upon states to inspect North Korean vessels suspected of carrying such shipments. The resolution does allow for shipments of food and nonmilitary goods. As was the case with an earlier U.N. resolution, 1718, that was passed in October 2006 after North Koreas first nuclear test, Res.

Since 1995, the United States has provided North Korea with over $1.2 billion in assistance,
about 60% of which has paid for food aid and about 40% for energy assistance. U.S. aid fell
significantly in the mid-2000s, bottoming out at zero in 2006.
The Bush Administration resumed energy aid in the fall of 2007, after progress was made in the
Six-Party Talks over North Korea?s nuclear program. The Six-Party Talks involve North Korea,
the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia.

The issue of North Korea's inclusion on the U.S. list of terrorism-supporting countries has arisen twice in recent U.S.-North Korean diplomacy. In 2000, North Korea demanded that the Clinton Administration remove North Korea from the terrorism-support list before North Korea would send a high level envoy to Washington and accept the Clinton Administration's proposal to begin negotiations with the United States over the North Korean missile program.