July 27, 2026
Mrs. Kim (for herself and Mr. Bera) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
To authorize the Secretary of State to coordinate and engage with allies and partners of the United States to detect, attribute, and disrupt certain activities of North Korea, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the North Korean Fraudulent Applicants Knowingly Enriching the Regime Act
or the North Korean FAKER Act
.
Sec. 2. Statement of policy
It is the policy of the United States—
(1)
to counter illegal revenue generation by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea through deceptive remote employment and identity fraud schemes;
(2)
to prevent such revenue from being used to support North Korea’s ballistic missile programs, nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction;
(3)
to promote international cooperation and strengthen international norms and standards to detect, disrupt, and deter such programs; and
(4)
to apply diplomatic tools to prevent foreign persons from facilitating such schemes or contributing to weapons of mass destruction proliferation networks associated with North Korea.
Sec. 3. Diplomatic coordination and counter-evasion measures
(a) International Coordination
The Secretary of State is authorized to coordinate with appropriate counterparts of the governments of allied and partner countries to—
(1)
align sanctions and other restrictive measures with respect to persons who knowingly engage in, facilitate, or are responsible for a remote information technology worker scheme conducted on behalf of North Korea;
(2)
enhance information-sharing regarding remote information technology worker schemes, money-laundering, and weapons of mass destruction proliferation networks in North Korea;
(3)
prioritize diplomatic engagement with countries identified as hosting, enabling, or failing to prevent illegal remote workforce activity by North Korea, including through security assistance, technical training, and where appropriate, the use of sanctions or economic measures; and
(4)
develop and implement coordinated strategies and security assistance guarantees to prevent North Korean sanctions evasion and proliferation financing.
(b) External Engagement
The Secretary is authorized to—
(1)
engage with private sector entities with relevant technical expertise, including cybersecurity firms, financial institutions, digital asset platforms, and online labor marketplaces, to enhance the ability of the United States and its partners to detect, attribute, and disrupt activities of North Korea described in subsection (a)(2), including weapons of mass destruction-related proliferation support; and
(2)
to address the use of artificial intelligence, synthetic identities, and other emerging technologies in furtherance of such activities.
(c) Rewards for Justice Program Enhancement
Subject to the limitations set forth in section 36(e) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708(e)), the Secretary may—
(1)
increase the reward offered through the Rewards for Justice Program with respect to the activities of North Korea described in subsection (a)(2), including illegal remote information technology worker schemes and weapons of mass destruction proliferation networks; and
(2)
carry out such efforts as the Secretary determines appropriate to enhance outreach, increase public awareness, and prioritize information that facilitates the identification, disruption, or prevention of such activities.
(d) Attribution
The Secretary, in consultation with the relevant heads of other Federal departments and agencies, may publicly attribute, as appropriate, illegal remote workforce schemes and associated entities linked to North Korea, including through coordinated bilateral or multilateral statements and joint advisories to increase public awareness of the weapons of mass destruction proliferation activities of North Korea.
Sec. 4. Report on illegal remote workforce activities
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for a period of 2 years, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes with respect to the period covered by the report—
(1)
an assessment of illegal remote workforce activities conducted by or on behalf of North Korea;
(2)
a description of efforts to coordinate with allies and partners to counter such activities;
(3)
an overview of actions taken to disrupt associated networks;
(4)
a description of coordination between the Department of State and interagency partners to achieve the objectives described in section 2; and
(5)
recommendations for additional diplomatic, economic, or legislative measures to enhance the effectiveness of such efforts, actions, and coordination.
Sec. 5. Definitions
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees
The term appropriate congressional committees means—
(A)
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and
(B)
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
(2) Artificial intelligence
The term artificial intelligence has the meaning given such term in section 5002 of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401).