The Democratic United Party (DUP) has included reference to North Korean human rights in amendments to party policy to be tabled at a party convention on May 4th. The policy changes were revealed in documentation submitted to the National Assembly.

The revised party line includes reference to the threat to Korean Peninsula peace posed by North Korea’s nuclear developments, and peace on the Korean Peninsula as the basis of security.

However, it also mentions fostering interest in North Korean human rights. The move marks a considerable shift, as there had hitherto been no reference to North Korean human rights in DUP policy. The party has also opposed the adoption of a North Korean human rights law for almost ten years.

However, there is expected to be conflict over the issue in the run up to the convention, with some inside the party likely to accuse the leadership of shifting to the right on this and other issues.

One DUP official told Daily NK today, “From the universal perspective, the North Korean human rights problem is one that the DUP cannot ignore, and therefore it has been included. However, the North Korean human rights issue is a sensitive one in inter-Korean relations, so we’ll have to wait and see what conclusions come out of the convention.”