[imText1]South Korean Minister of Unification Hyun In Taek has reasserted that the fundamental solution to North Korean human rights problems is for North Korea to open itself up and improve its speed of economic development.
In a seminar on North Korean democracy and the free market system held by the Diplomacy, Commerce and Unification Committee of the National Assembly on Wednesday, Minister Hyun said, “As you have seen from Chinese development, reform and opening are not optional, they are indispensable conditions for life.”
He urged, “North Korea should aim to improve its human rights situation through economic development, and guarantee its security by abandoning nuclear weapons.”
“We have maintained a limited and passive stance on North Korean human rights problems due to the unique nature of inter-Korean relations. However, I want to suggest a basic question: whether inter-Korean relations are justifiable if they disregard human rights issues,” Minister Hyun told the audience.
He added that, “Defector problems, POWs and abductees and separated families issues are all derived from the same human rights issues. So our government is taking part in international efforts to improve North Korean human rights situation as a responsible member of the international community.”
Earlier the Chairman of the Diplomacy, Commerce and Unification Committee, Grand National Party lawmaker Park Jin stressed in his welcoming speech, “We cannot go forward on the right path to unification without consideration for the North Korean people, who are oppressed by the regime.”
Chairman Park said that the Committee hoped to bring up bills on both the foundation of the North Korean Human Rights Foundation and Improvements to North Korean Human Rights in the National Assembly this month.
