U.S. group seeks cooperation with N.K. defectors' organizations

SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- Members of a conservative U.S. research organization group recently visited Seoul for talks with local groups on how to render support to North Korean defectors, officials said Monday.

Two Asian affairs officials of the International Republican Institute (IRI),
whose board of directors is chaired by U.S. presidential candidate John McCain,
made the trip on Oct. 1-5, they said.
The Americans met executives of two leading organizations -- the Committee for
the Democratization of North Korea and the Network for North Korean Democracy and
Human Rights -- and discussed the possibility of running a joint education and
other programs for the defectors and helping build a network among local groups
representing the defectors, the officials said.
The IRI has regularly sent a delegation to Seoul over the past two years to hear
opinions from the civic groups working to improve human rights and promote
democracy in the communist state.
"I got the impression that the IRI is trying to give more attention to the North
Korea issue," said Kim Yoon-tae, secretary-general of the North Korean Democracy
and Human Rights. "This visit appears to be aimed at finding out if there are
programs that it can run jointly with South Korean groups for North Korea
defectors," he added.
Over 14,000 North Koreans have arrived in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War
after fleeing their communist homeland to escape famine and political oppression.
The U.S. Congress in late September extended the North Korean Human Rights Act
which expired at the end of that month to finance another four years of efforts
to help North Korean defectors settle in the U.S. and promote democracy in the
reclusive communist state.
The revised law calls for "activities to support human rights and democracy and
freedom of information in North Korea," as well as assistance to North Koreans
living outside the country and broadcasts to the North.