DATE=05/05/2002

TYPE=EDITORIAL

NUMBER=0-09865

TITLE=EDITORIAL: NORTH KOREAN PEOPLE ABUSED

INTERNET=Yes

CONTENT=THIS EDITORIAL IS BEING RELEASED FOR USE BY ALL SERVICES. IT IS A REPEAT FROM 05/02/2002.

Anncr: Next, an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government:

Voice: In a briefing to the human rights caucus of the United States Congress, Lorne Craner, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, said, "North Korea is among the most repressive regimes in the world. The closed nature of the North Korean regime makes it difficult to obtain information on the conditions inside the country. But the reports that make it out [of the country] paint a shocking, often horrifying, picture of brutality, oppression, injustice, and deprivation."

Mr. Craner recalled President George W. Bush's comment that "North Korean children should never starve while a massive army is fed. No nation should be a prison for its own people."

The North Korean leadership, said Mr. Craner, "appears willing to let the world feed its starving masses while it pursues its dangerous course of military build-up and the production of weapons of mass destruction. Such weapons pose a grave and growing danger to the U.S. and the world and threaten the peace and the economic and political stability of the region." Mr. Craner said that, "North Korea must take concrete steps to alleviate this threat and the continuing human tragedy inside the country."

It is estimated that there are between one hundred-fifty thousand and two-hundred thousand political prisoners in North Korea. Conditions of imprisonment are appalling. Torture and rape are common in the prison camps. "Perhaps most shocking," said Assistant Secretary of State Craner, "are the reports of authorities killing the newborn babies of women detained after being forcibly returned from China. We also have reports of public executions of political prisoners, religious practitioners, regime opponents, some repatriated defectors, and others."

The United States is concerned about the plight of the North Korean people. The U.S. has provided substantial amounts of humanitarian aid through the World Food Program. President Bush has also made it clear that the U.S. is prepared to undertake serious discussions with the North Koreans anytime, anyplace, without preconditions to address issues of concern. North Korea has recently accepted Mr. Bush's proposal.

As President Bush has said, "We have great sympathy and empathy for the North Korean people. We want them to have food. At the same time, we want them to have freedom. And we will work in a peaceful way to achieve that objective."

Anncr: That was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government. If you have a comment, please write to Editorials, V-O-A, Washington, D-C, 20237, U-S-A. You may also comment at www-dot-ibb-dot-gov-slash-editorials, or fax us at (202) 619-1043.