Updated Mar.11,2005 14:04 KST

Defectors with Criminal Pasts Ineligible for Gov't Support
Plans are in the works to establish a standard regulation on whether to give financial support to North Korean defectors. The government here in the South has announced that it is setting up measures that will draw the line on the North Koreans with inappropriate backgrounds including terrorists, drug dealers and those carrying criminal records involving rape and murder.

Once the measures are established, officials here say the government will dispatch investigators to China and other third countries that North Korean defectors make stopover before settling in South Korea and screen them in advance and examine their status.

Under the plan, those who fail to meet the standard regulation will not be eligible for government support including seed money and job support to restart their life.

Arirang TV