The White House says President Barack Obama signed legislation on Friday that would extend the power of the existing law for North Korean human rights until 2017.

The North Korean human rights act passed in 2004 under the George W. Bush administration was extended for another four years in 2008 and it was jointly proposed for another extension by Republican and Democratic party leaders this year.

Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said North Korean human rights affairs remain in a dismal state despite the power succession from Kim Jong-il to his son Kim Jong-un.

Ros-Lehtinen also said China’s forced repatriation of North Korean defectors is in direct violation of the UN refugee agreement and refugee protocol. She demanded the U.S. administration urge China to halt the practice.