Senate approves King as special envoy for N. Korean rights

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. Senate has approved the nomination of
Robert King, a former congressional aide, as special envoy for North Korean human
rights, congressional sources said Sunday.

The full Senate approved King unanimously Friday, the sources said.
King was named by President Barack Obama in September under the North Korean
Human Rights Act which calls for provision of financial aid to help improve human
rights conditions in the North and accommodation of North Korean defectors into
the U.S.
The act was effectuated in 2004 under the Bush administration for a four-year run
and was extended by Congress for another four years in September last year. It
calls 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.
Speaking at a Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month, King said he will
raise China's deportation of North Korean defectors with Beijing.
China, Pyongyang's staunchest communist ally, sees North Korean defectors as
economic migrants rather than refugees, and repatriates 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 to help promote democracy in the communist nation.
King replaces Jay Lefkowitz who quit earlier this year after serving four years
since 2005.
In his final report, Lefkowitz in January urged Obama to emphasize human rights
in the six-party 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.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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