International Relations

[Anchor Lead]

American broadcaster ABC reported that U.S. Vice President Mike Pence canceled his speech about North Korea's human rights situation. Pundits believe the speech was scrapped amid tension between U.S. and North Korea over denuclearization. It may signal Washington's friendly overture to have nuclear talks back on track.

[Pkg]

ABC News reported that Vice President Mike Pence was expected to give a speech on North Korea's human rights abuses, but said it was scrapped due to a scheduling conflict. The news channel added that the cancellation came amid tensions in North Korea-U.S. nuclear talks and concerns that the vice president's speech could anger or alienate North Korea and further derail nuclear negotiations. The U.S. has recently added more pressure on North Korea for its human rights violations, such as imposing sanctions on Choe Ryong-hae and two other top-ranking North Korean officials, renaming North Korea as a country of particular concern in terms of its religious freedom, and adopting a resolution on North Korea's human rights situation at the United Nations General Assembly. Those familiar with this issue say that the recent cancellation may be interpreted as a friendly gesture toward Pyongyang. This falls in line with U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun's recent announcement that the travel ban on North Korea may be lifted to provide humanitarian aid.

[Soundbite] Stephen Biegun(U.S. Special Representative for North Korea(Dec. 19)) : "I will be sitting down with American aid groups early in the new year to discuss how we can better ensure the delivery of appropriate assistance."

These activities imply what Washington wants are a second summit with Pyongyang early next year and actual progress in the denuclearization process. However, ABC News pointed out that some human rights groups were concerned that the cancellation of Vice President Pence's speech may signal the easing of pressure on North Korea's human rights abuses.