Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung speaks at a news briefing about the upcoming inter-Korean summit at the Unification Ministry in Seoul on Thursday./REUTERS

Lee made the remarks at a press conference in which a reporter questioned whether it was proper for South Korea's delegation to the upcoming inter-Korean summit to view the North Korean performance of "Arirang", which some consider an example of child abuse.

The journalist asked, "Is it appropriate for President Roh Moo-hyun to watch the Arirang performance, in which North Korean children are forced to perform for an extended amount of time, and their human rights abused?"

"It's not appropriate for us to judge whether this is an abuse of children's human rights or not," Lee replied. "In South Korea, some children have to practice for a long time to appear on stage or on TV, or they gather to prepare for sports events. Would you call that an abuse of children's human rights as well?"

Lee's comments are expected to provoke controversy, given that human rights are a universal value and because Lee himself emphasized the need for human rights improvements in North Korea when Seoul delivered rice aid to Pyongyang.

Jhe Seong-ho, a professor of law at Chung-Ang University, said, "According to Minister Lee's logic, the suppression of human rights by South Korea's earlier dictatorships is justified. I think he used sophistry to allow the South Korean delegation to watch the Arirang performance as demanded by North Korea."

At the press conference, Lee reiterated the need to "take a more broadminded approach" to the issue of the delegation viewing the performance. His comments seem suggest that Seoul and Pyongyang have already agreed that the South Korean delegation, including Roh, will watch the games.

Arirang is a show of mass gymnastic games organized mainly for propaganda purposes to idolize Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. About 60,000 to 100,000 people, including children as young as five, college students and adults, participate in the performance.

The August issue of the magazine Good Friends published by a civic group that campaigns for human rights for North Koreans says, "Many of the spectators sob during the Arirang performance. This is because many parents and spectators are heartbroken to see poor children perform, drenched in rain."

A researcher at a institute that focuses on North Korea said, "In order to get the tens of thousands of children to perform together simultaneously, the organizers deny the children water to prevent them from having to go to the bathroom."

The Arirang performances were said to have been suspended on Aug. 27 following devastating floods in North Korea, but they are rumored to have resumed on Monday.

(englishnews@chosun.com )