Posted November. 11, 2003 22:53,
A bill on security and freedom on the Korean Peninsula dealing with various issues on North Korea will be soon presented before the U.S. Senate.
This bill includes policies on North Korea at the Congressional level such as North Koreas human rights issue, approval of refugee status to protect North Korean defectors, support for democratization, and negotiations with North Korea.
In particular, regarding the human rights issue in North Korea, the bill requires the U.S. State Department to form a task force within three months of enactment, in cooperation with CIA and other intelligence agencies, to submit a comprehensive report on prisons and prison camps in North Korea.
The legislation of the bill, which stipulates to provide more than $200 million in aid for democratization and improving human rights in North Korea, is being pursued by Senator Richard Lugar, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Sam Brownback, chairman of the Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Subcommittee, and Henry Hyde, chairman of the House International Relations Committee, as well as several civic groups.
Senator Brownback will submit the bill to the subcommittee before the session ends on November 21, a Congress source in Washington said Monday. The bill will be presented before the Judiciary Committee or the Foreign Relations Committee after deliberation in the subcommittee.
Although presented in this session, the bill will be deliberated on and be dealt with in detail next year, added the source.