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Korean Lawyers on Human Rights in N. Korea:

The Korean Bar Association on Friday called on the government to help improve human rights conditions in North Korea. In a statement marking the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec. 10, the association said, “While the international community is trying to improve the human rights conditions in the North, the South Korean government has shirked its responsibilities in the issue” by abstaining on resolutions on the matter in the UN Human Rights Commission and the General Assembly.

The issue “cannot be resolved with economic aid, the shipping of rice and fertilizer and ministerial meetings and other political moves alone,” the lawyers said. “Only when the human rights condition improves can the North become part of the international community and thus speed the process of peaceful unification.