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Hwang Jang-yup (85), a former secretary of the North Korean Worker's Party who fled to the South in 1997 and the highest ranked North Korean official yet to have defected, may now travel abroad freely. Hwang¡¯s international travel had been restricted for last 10 years under the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations.
A government official on Tuesday said the South Korean government will allow Hwang, who was confined to South Korea ¡°for being an obstacle to better inter-Korean relations,¡± can now freely travel overseas. ¡°The problem is his personal security, but confining his right of free movement violates his human rights,¡± the official added.
Hwang, who came to the South in April 1997, has had only one chance to travel abroad with a trip to the United States in October 2003, despite many invitations from other countries. After three applications, Hwang was granted a single-entry passport. ¡°I don¡¯t know when, but I heard Hwang was issued a multiple-entry passport recently,¡± an acquaintance said. ¡°Hwang plans to visit the United States again sometime in the second half of this year or the first half of next year.¡±
The National Police Agency has been charged with Hwang¡¯s personal security since 2004. Last week, prosecutors revealed that alleged North Korean spy Won Jeong-hwa (34) tried to approach Hwang through a North Korean defector who settled in the South in 2006.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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