UN move spurs Assembly rights bill

By Jun Ji-hye

The United Nations’ adoption of a resolution against Pyongyang is serving as momentum for the National Assembly’s stalled efforts to pass North Korean human rights-related bills.

Rep. Yoo Ki-june of the ruling Saenuri Party told reporters Wednesday, “Taking the U.N. move as an opportunity, the Assembly will speed up dealing with relevant bills.”

Yoo chairs the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee

The U.N. General Assembly’s Third Committee passed a resolution Tuesday (local time) calling for the referral of North Korea to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for state-perpetrated violations of human rights.

Yoo said that parliament will spare no effort to pass the bills this year.

Human rights issues in the reclusive state have been a subject of political debate between rival parties for almost 10 years, since former Saenuri Party lawmaker and former governor of Gyeonggi Province Kim Moon-soo submitted a related bill in 2005.

Currently, six bills related to North Korean human rights are pending in the Assembly ― five submitted by governing party members and one from members of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD).

The ruling party is now pulling together elements of its five bills to create a single bill. Their bills call for establishing a body at the Ministry of Unification to look into North Korean human rights, and supporting civic groups working to improve the livings conditions of the people there.

The NPAD’s bill is focused on humanitarian assistance and inter-Korean cooperation.

Opposition lawmakers are expressing concern that the government’s envisioned support for civic groups related to North Korean issues, most of which have strong hostility toward the isolated state, could upset Pyongyang, thus deepening already strained inter-Korean relations. They believe that such support will only encourage the activities of groups composed of North Korean defectors, such as launching balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets near the border, which the North has cited as one of the reasons for recently cancelling scheduled high-level talks.

The opposition party is also taking a cautious attitude in passing the bill, raising concerns about possible controversy over interference in the domestic affairs of the reclusive state.

The ruling party said that it will draw up a single bill that will also reflect a view of the opposition by the end of this month, and resume the bipartisan discussion in earnest.

However, it remains to be seen whether rival lawmakers can pass the bill as they remain poles apart.

Rep. Shim Jae-kwon of the NPAD said the Assembly should not rush in handling the bills simply because the U.N. adopted the resolution.

“It is more important to review the bills in depth,” Shim said.

Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye