*EPF403 11/02/00
Byliner: Assistant Secretary of State Harold Hongju Koh on North Korea
(Op-ed from The Washington Post 11/02/00) (650)

(This column by Assistant Secretary of State for democracy, human rights and labor Harold Hongju Koh first appeared in The Washington Post November 02 and is in the public domain. No republication restrictions).

A Breakthrough in North Korea
By Harold Hongju Koh

(The author is Assistant Secretary of State for democracy, human rights and labor.)

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's recent visit to Pyongyang was a landmark step toward ending the half-century of estrangement and tension that has clouded America's relationship with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea since the Korean War.

This summer, North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Il signaled a new openness toward dialogue, holding a historic summit in Pyongyang with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung. In October he invited Secretary Albright to be the highest-ranking American official ever to visit North Korea. The secretary accepted that invitation fully mindful of North Korea's dismal human rights record, which has been comprehensively detailed in the State Department's human rights and international religious freedom reports. Kim Dae Jung, a longtime advocate of democracy and human rights in his own country and worldwide, strongly encouraged the secretary to travel to Pyongyang.

During her two-day visit, the secretary raised with her hosts the full range of American concerns, emphasizing missile restraints and other security issues, while also discussing global issues and compliance with international norms on such matters as terrorism and human rights. Not only was the secretary the first American Cabinet official ever to raise the issue of human rights with the highest-ranking North Koreans, she also pursued directly with Kim Jong Il in-depth discussions of issues obviously critical to the reduction of tensions and expansion of freedom on the peninsula.

Critics have chided the secretary not for the substance of her trip but for the images of clinking champagne glasses with Kim Jong Il and attending a mass performance in honor of the founding of the 55th anniversary of the Korean Workers Party. But while publicly discussing the performance in Pyongyang, the secretary told the North Koreans and the world press, "I wasn't born yesterday, and I have been a student of communist affairs all my life, and so one knows perfectly well how these performances are put together.... I just can assure you that these glasses that I have on are not rose-colored."

In public statements, she told the North Koreans that the "American people care about humanitarian issues. We always have, and we always will." While toasting "to all Koreans, a future marked by prosperity, reconciliation and peace," she urged North Korea to participate in the international system and to observe global norms.

As we now pursue broader human rights discussions with North Korea, we must stay focused on substance. From Beijing to Bosnia, from East Timor to Kosovo, Madeleine Albright has spoken and acted for human rights and democracy more forcefully and consistently than any previous American secretary of state. She has pursued a global policy of principled, purposeful engagement on human rights issues, using diplomatic dialogue with authoritarian governments to press for greater freedom for oppressed peoples. Her trip to North Korea was an important breakthrough in fostering greater North Korean openness to the outside world.

As a Korean American, I have spent my whole life waiting for the day when North Korea would end its isolation and begin a process of rapprochement with South Korea and the United States. Opening dialogue -- particularly on the issues of weapons of mass destruction and ending hostility -- is obviously critical to advancing any human rights agenda in North Korea. If vigorous diplomacy brings closer the day that 23 million North Koreans can enjoy genuine freedom, then let us have more of it.

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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