GNP drafts new human rights bill on North Korea

By Park Si-soo

The ruling Grand National Party has drafted a new North Korean human rights bill featuring a call for aid to the poverty-stricken North.

The GNP also proposed to the main opposition Democratic Party that they stand behind the bill, said GNP deputy floor leader Lee Myung-gyu.

The rival parties have been mired in a dispute over North Korea’s alleged dismal human rights situation and whether Seoul should provide aid to Pyongyang. This has held back legislation designed to help improve conditions in the North.

A bill previously set solely by the GNP has been gathering dust in the parliamentary judiciary committee since last year. In June, the main opposition party submitted a separate bill that primarily focuses on humanitarian aid to the North.

The latest move comes a month after a group of British lawmakers sent letters to the leaders of South Korea's political parties urging them to pass a bill to support paying attention to and bettering the conditions in the North.

North Korea has long been accused of human rights abuses, ranging from imprisoning hundreds of thousands of political dissenters to torture and public executions.

Pyongyang denies the accusations, threatening to retaliate “mercilessly” and “sternly” if South Korea passes a bill on its human rights record. Pyongyang believes it is a U.S.-led attempt to topple its regime.