U.S. presses North Korea on human rights

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- The United States is "deeply concerned" about alleged human rights abuses in North Korea, U.S. envoy Robert King said in Seoul Monday.

King was in South Korea for discussions aimed at resuming six-nation talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

"The United States remains deeply concerned about the human rights situation inside the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] and the well-being of the North Korean people," King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, said in a statement.

"Addressing human rights will have a significant impact on the prospect for closer U.S.-DPRK ties."

King met with Wi Sung-lac, South Korea's chief negotiator in the talks, and is to meet with Wi and his North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong Ho, for more talks in Beijing on Wednesday, officials said.

King's visit comes during talks this week between the top nuclear envoys from South Korea and North Korea. The officials from the two countries met in Indonesia in July for the first time in more than two years, Yonhap said.

North Korea had agreed in 2006 to end its nuclear program but conducted nuclear tests that year and in 2009 dropped out of the six-party talks, which also include Japan, Russia and the United States.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, during an unusual visit to Russia last month, told President Dmitry Medvedev he hoped to resume the six-party talks.

South Korea and the United States want Pyongyang to announce a moratorium on nuclear testing and missile launches and address concerns about its uranium-enrichment program before the multilateral negotiations begin.