Whereas the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), also known as North Korea, possesses a ballistic missile and nuclear weapons development program that poses grave threats to the United States, South Korea, United States allies, and global security; Whereas North Korea’s ballistic missile program has demonstrated an increasing ability to reach the United States, and constitutes a credible threat to the security of the American people; Whereas North Korea has demonstrated a willingness and ability to proliferate its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons technology to a variety of countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic, which the United States designated as state sponsors of terrorism; Whereas, on January 6, 2016, North Korea detonated a nuclear device, marking its fourth nuclear test to date; Whereas, on February 7, 2016, North Korea, utilizing a modified version of the Taepodong-2 ballistic missile, launched a satellite into space; Whereas, on April 14, 2016, Admiral William Gortney, Commander of U.S. Northern Command, in a hearing before the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives, stated they [North Korea] have the ability on the KN–O8 to I assess that he has the ability to miniaturize a nuclear weapon and range the homeland with that warhead ; Whereas, on April 28, 2016, Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a hearing before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, testified the benefits of [the trilateral] relationship are crystal clear in the face of the region’s most acute challenge—the challenge from North Korea and its provocative acts in the nuclear missile domain ; Whereas, on August 24, 2016, North Korea successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile, firing the missile over 300 miles from a submerged submarine; Whereas, on September 9, 2016, North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test, which it said was a warhead that could be standardized for its ballistic missiles