WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law a bill designed to promote human rights in North Korea.

The legislation, called the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2017, renews a law that was first adopted in 2004 during the George W. Bush administration. It will be in effect until 2022.

“This legislation is intended to promote human rights and freedom in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” Trump said in a statement released by the White House.

The law calls for providing financial support to groups that help the spread of outside information into North Korea through USBs, micro SD cards, voice and video players, mobile phones and other telecom equipment.

It also requires the State Department to report to Congress plans to improve the material carried in these devices, including South Korean and American music, TV programs and films that are popular among North Koreans.

The enactment comes as the US and North Korea are in negotiations to dismantle the regime’s nuclear weapons program following last month’s historic summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (Yonhap)