The law, which the U.S. Congress passed earlier this month, will allow Washington to provide up to 24 million U.S. dollars a yearuntil 2008 to private support programs promoting human rights and democracy in the North. Under the law, North Korean escapees will be eligible to seek refugee status in the U.S. The law also requires the U.S. President to appoint a special envoy to oversee and discuss human rights conditions with the North. The U.S. government says it will implement a strict process when accepting asylum seekers to the country and closely monitor all aid to the North to ensure that it is not diverted to the military.

Meanwhile, North Korea has reacted strongly against the law saying it is part of a scheme by Washington to topple the communist regime. Pyeongyang reportedly fears that the U.S. is encouraging more North Koreans to flee the country as an attempt to destabilize the country.

The law is expected to raise an obstacle in resolving the current stalemate over North Korea's nuclear impasse. Concerns are also mounting in South Korea that the new law may trigger a mass exodus from the North. Recently, the South has been struggling to accommodate the increasing numbers of North Korean asylum-seekers, who usually come to South Korea from China via a third country.

Arirang TV