Posted on 01/11/2010 9:07:28 PM PST by TigerLikesRooster
2010/01/11 12:04 KST
U.S. envoy calls N. Korean human rights conditions 'appalling'
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- U.S. embassies abroad have been instructed to provide easy access to all North Korean defectors seeking asylum in the United States or elsewhere, the special U.S. envoy on North Korean human rights said Monday.
Robert King, who succeeded the United States' first-ever representative on North Korean human rights six weeks ago, said the situation in North Korea was "appalling," calling the communist North one of the worst violators of human rights.
"It is one of the worst places in terms of lack of human rights," King told reporters, following his meeting here with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan.
The U.S. envoy arrived here Sunday on a five-day visit, aimed at gathering information about human rights conditions in North Korea for his report to the U.S. administration.
The remarks followed a recent visit by Stephen Bosworth, special U.S. representative for North Korea policy, to Pyongyang on a mission to help resume six-nation talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambition and mend ties between the U.S. and the North.
King said any improvement of relations between his country and the communist state will have to involve greater respect for human rights by North Korea.
"That's one of the important conditions. It is something on which the Congress and the U.S. administration are in complete agreement," he said.
The U.S. envoy said the issue must also be addressed in the six-way nuclear talks.
"The six-party talks include a sub-group of the United States and the DPRK. We will hold bilateral discussions in the context of six-party talks," King said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The U.S. envoy said his visit to Seoul as his first overseas trip since his appointment was meant to send a message on how closely Seoul and Washington were working together to help improve human rights conditions in the North.
King's predecessor, Jay Lefkowitz, left office without ever being allowed to visit North Korea, which claims there are no human rights violations in the country.
King insisted people fleeing the communist North must be recognized as refugees under the U.N. convention on asylum-seekers and said his country will work to provide as many opportunity as possible for North Korean defectors to find a better life in the United States.
"We have expressed a desire to provide an opportunity for people who want to come to the United States, for North Korean refugees to do that. There are requirements we have, but we have tried to give instructions to our embassies to make this as easy and as available as possible," he said.
Ping!
Correct me if I’m wrong but- aren’t there a very small number of North Koreans who even get out? Or those that do, walk into China, which is liking jumping out of a frying pan into a fire.
They usually just keep on trucking down to Laos, Vietnam, Burma, if they are lucky, Thailand, and then out somehow back up to South Korea.
“We have expressed a desire to provide an opportunity for people who want to come to the United States, for North Korean refugees to do that. There are requirements we have, but we have tried to give instructions to our embassies to make this as easy and as available as possible,” he said.<<<
I do hope the embassy has room for a large airport and lots of very large airplanes to get them out with.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.