Bush meets with his N. Korea human rights envoy for first time

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 Kyodo

U.S. President George W. Bush met for the first time officially Wednesday with Jay Lefkowitz, his special envoy on human rights in North Korea, the White House said.

The meeting came just days after Lefkowitz discussed North Korean human rights and the issue of North Korea's abduction of Japanese citizens with his Japanese counterpart, Fumiko Saiga. The two met in Seoul last week at an international conference on human rights in North Korea.

Saiga was appointed as ambassador in charge of human rights on Dec. 6.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the meeting between Bush and Lefkowitz was arranged as ''an opportunity to talk about what is a high priority for the president, which is the human rights of those who are being denied their rights in North Korea.''

Lefkowitz, named in August to the new position of special envoy on human rights in North Korea, has been the point person for the Bush administration's demands that North Korea reform its human rights before relations can be fully restored between the two nations.

The issue of human rights has become a constant refrain from the administration in its dealings with North Korea, one that Pyongyang has at times found irritating.

While Washington has long said its criticism of North Korea's human rights record is a separate issue from the ongoing six-party talks aimed at convincing North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions, Pyongyang has in the past used the critical U.S. position as a reason to delay a resumption of negotiations.

Lefkowitz's position was mandated by the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, and it is meant to promote improvements in the human rights of North Koreans.

The six-party talks involve the United States, Japan, China, South Korea, Russia and North Korea.

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