U.S. envoy on N.K. human rights denounces China for refugee repatriation

By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. nominee for North Korea human rights envoy on Thursday denounced China for deportation of North Korean refugees, saying he will continue pressing Beijing on the matter.

Speaking at a Senate confirmation hearing, Robert King said, "We have raised
these issues with the Chinese, and it would be my intention to continue to do
that ... The Chinese have been less hospitable than we would like in terms of
accepting these refugees and allowing them access to the U.N. High Commissioner
for Refugees."
China, Pyongyang's staunchest communist ally, sees North Korean defectors as
economic migrants rather than refugees, and deports them under a secret agreement
with North Korea where they are persecuted.
Reports said that hundreds of thousands of North Korean defectors are hiding in
China.
Most of the defectors cross the border with China to seek shelter, mainly in South
Korea, which has received nearly 20,000 of them since the end of the 1950-53
Korean War.
The U.S. has taken in about 80 North Korean refugees since the North Korean Human
Rights Act was enacted years ago to help promote democracy in the communist
nation.
King, a former congressional aide, was named in September as special envoy for
North Korean human rights, replacing Jay Lefkowitz, who quit in January after
three years of service.
Under the North Korean Human Rights Act, then President Bush appointed Lefkowitz
in 2005 as special envoy on North Korean human rights affairs and provided
financial aid to help improve human rights conditions in the North and accept
North Korean defectors into the U.S.
The Congress extended the act for another four-year run, calling for "activities
to support human rights and democracy and freedom of information in North Korea,"
and "assistance to North Koreans who are outside North Korea," plus 12-hour
broadcasting to North Korea.
In his final report, Lefkowitz in January urged Obama to emphasize human rights
in the multilateral talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions and proposed
that the U.S. and its allies link any aid to Pyongyang with human rights
improvements.
Lefkowitz was denied access to North Korea while in office, although he
frequently visited South Korea and China to write reports.
China has been under fire for disallowing access to North Korean refugees by the
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton triggered controversy in February when
she said that human rights violations should not serve as a hurdle to
improvements in relations with China.
The remarks spawned concerns that the Barack Obama administration may follow his
predecessor, George W. Bush, in circumventing the sensitive rights issue in order
not to provoke China, which plays a key role in the six-party talks on ending
North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
The U.S. last month listed North Korea among the eight worst offenders of
religious freedom, saying the reclusive state severely restricts religious
activity.
The 2009 Report on International Religious Freedom put the North on the list of
"countries of specific concern" for the ninth consecutive year since 2001.
The seven others are Iran, Myanmar, China, Sudan, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia and
Uzbekistan.
The U.S. State Department also issued an annual human rights report in February
expressing concerns about human trafficking and repatriation of North Korean
refugees, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in May
listed North Korea among 12 nations where freedom is squashed.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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