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The Uri Party expressed concerns over the North Korean human rights act recently passed with unanimous approval in the U.S. Senate. The ruling Uri Party, which had been silent on its official position on the issue until now, expressed their doubts Thursday on the passing of the North Korean human rights act, saying that it could aggravate inter-Korean relations and exert a negative influence on the Korean economy.
Asking for a press conference Thursday, Uri Party Chairman Lee Boo-young stated that the human rights act is the same in principle as the South's democratization campaign, though in application the former could strain inter-Korean relations. He added that the act could solicit an adverse response and could move North Korea further away from opening up.
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Members of the Democratic Labor Party hold a demonstration in front of the U.S. Embassy in Korea in Sejong-no, Seoul on Thursday. The representatives show their opposition to the North Korean human rights act recently passed by the U.S. Senate.
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If the North Korean human rights law acts to strengthen propaganda against North Korea, accelerate North Korean defectors from their country and force North Korea to open their markets, it could have a negative influence on inter- Korean relations, such as the six-nations talks, remarked Chairman Lee. He asked for Korea-U.S. cooperation on the process of law. He added that with aggravated inter-Korean relations, he was anxious about what kind of influence the new law would exert on the country¡¯s already unstable economy.
At his briefing, Uri Party Spokesperson Lim Jong-seok remarked that it is doubtful that the North Korea human rights act will actually improve human rights conditions, adding that instead it could complicate future political ties on the Korean peninsula and the North Korean nuclear problem. He said that the bill will stimulate North Korea and aggravate relations between the U.S. and North Korea, possibly throwing the outlook of the six-nations talks into confusion.
The ruling party also expressed concerns over a possible exodus from North Korea, according to the North Korean human rights act of the U.S., where some of the signs have already been seen, said Chairman Lee. Spokesperson Lim was also worried that the North Korean human rights act may increase the number of North Korean refugees and work against inter-Korean relations. Chong Wa Dae is reluctant to disclose its standpoint on the issue.
Opposing the North Korean human rights act passed by the U.S., 25 lawmakers of the Uri Party passed their own document outlining their apprehension to the bill, and delivered it to the U.S. Embassy in South Korea.
(Park Doo-sik, dspark@chosun.com )
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