"U.S. Senate Likely to Pass North Korean Human Rights Bill"

The “North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004,” which connects issues of improvement in the human rights environment in North Korea and U.S. aids to North Korea, is likely to be passed by the U.S. Senate unanimously, according to Kyodo News on September 18.

The “North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004” passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in July. If the bill passes in the senate, it will take effect once it is signed by President George W. Bush. The bill sets issues such as the detainment of political prisoners, execution, forced labor of North Korean defectors, and Japanese people abducted by North as “many serious human rights violations under the dictatorial regime,” and asks for basic human rights observance and protection.

Also, the bill sets conditions of human rights observance and freedom of religion, disclosure of information on abducted persons, and the release of all victims to their home countries in exchange for U.S. aid.