Dr. Robert King has told a nomination hearing on Capitol Hill that he wants to see more pro-democracy broadcasting into North Korea, a greater degree of assistance for refugees overall and a greater degree of cooperation from China on human rights issues in particular.
Speaking at his nomination hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday afternoon, King, the Obama administration’s prospective Special Envoy for North Korea Human Rights Issues, called North Korea “one of the worst human rights abusers in the world” and vowed “to promote increased respect for human rights” in the country if he is confirmed in the position, as it is widely anticipated that he will be.
King told the Committee, which is chaired by Senator John Kerry, that broadcasting into North Korea, done by the likes of Open Radio for North Korea, Radio Free Chosun and Free North Korea Broadcasting, is critical for “breaking down the isolation of the North Korean people and making available independent sources of information inside the country.”
King knows well the value of such broadcasts, as he started out in the human rights field with Radio Free Europe when it was still at the forefront of pro-democracy activities behind the Iron Curtain.
By singling out the Chinese, King also added to the pressure on Beijing to cease returning those refugees they arrest back to North Korea, saying, “We have urged China to adhere to its obligations as a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, including by not expelling or forcibly returning North Koreans protected under those treaties. We have urged China to cooperate with the UNHCR in exercising its functions, including allowing access to North Korean asylum seekers.”
He later confirmed his view in a Q&A session with Committee members, telling them, “The Chinese have been less hospitable than we would like in terms of accepting these refugees and allowing them access to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.”
King finally drew the Committee’s attention to the abduction of more than ten Japanese citizens and hundreds of South Koreans in the 1960s through the 1980s by North Korean agents, calling such activities “one of the most egregious human rights violations” of all.
