North Korea must repatriate the Korean War abductees at once

Kukmin Daily
Oct. 7, 2011


On the 6th, Robert King, Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, said the US must include the Korean War abductees in their North Korean human rights issues and North Korea must repatriate the abductees immediately.

At the seminar held by the Korean War Abductees’ Family Union (KWAFU) at the National Press Club in Washington DC, he said that North Korean human rights issues have a great influence in the state of US-North Korea relations and the Korean War abductees are included among the concerns on the North Korean human rights.

He added, “The US fully supports the diplomatic efforts of South Korea and Japan to address the issue of the abductees and we particularly support the resolution urging the immediate repatriation of the abductees, submitted at the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly.”

Robert King explained the US Congress is in support of the US Administration’s policy on improving the human rights conditions of North Korean citizens. In July, the resolution calling for the repatriation of POW/MIAs and abductees from the Korean War was proposed by Representative Charles Rangel, a Korean War veteran.

This seminar was organized by KWAFU in a bid to raise support in the US Administration and Congress so that the resolution on the Korean War abductees can pass the US Congress.

KWAFU President Lee Mi-il said that the abduction of non-combatant civilians by threat during the Korea War was a crime against humanity and a violation of the International Humanitarian Law as defined in the Geneva Convention on protecting civilians during war.