Will Colin Powell Defy the North Korean Human Rights Act?

After sounding steadfast after his talks with China and South Korea, Colin Powell sounded decidedly wobbly on human rights in North Korea today, specifically regarding how aggressively he will comply with the North Korean Human Rights Act:

Addressing a separate matter, Mr. Powell said that in response to a recently enacted Congressional resolution on North Korea, the Bush administration would press for human rights concerns there to be discussed “by the international community” but that no plans had been set to make that issue a part of the nuclear talks.

The North Korean Human Rights Act, signed into law earlier in the week, links any economic aid to North Korea with progress on political prisoners, free speech and other human rights, and it says that concerns about human rights must become part of the talks on North Korea’s nuclear programs.

The law has been denounced by North Korea and has met with skepticism in China and South Korea, where some officials say it might complicate the drive to get cooperation from the highly secretive and suspicious government in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.

Mr. Powell said that human rights is “something we should talk about” and that he had assured sponsors of the resolution that the United States would do so, but that he and his aides had not yet decided on how best to approach the subject.

The human rights law also authorizes expenditures for aid for civilians and for North Korean refugees, and to private groups pressing for reform in North Korea. Some Asian experts say such steps could prompt charges of inappropriate interference by North Korea, but there is also a strong constituency in Congress for not overlooking the problem of North Korea’s dictatorship in any solution on the nuclear issue.