A former US rights envoy has insisted the US government provide humanitarian aid to North Korean residents only if transparency in its distribution is secured, a US broadcaster reported Thursday.
Robert King, the former US special envoy for North Korea's human rights issues, made the claim during a hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, Radio Free Asia said.
Former US human rights envoy Robert King (Yonhap)
Aid at the civic level should also be extended to the North under the same condition, King said.
On a complete ban on trips to the North, which is now under congressional review, King said visits for humanitarian purposes should be exceptionally allowed.
He also underlined the need for the influx of outside information into the isolated country in order to pressure its regime to meet people's desires. (Yonhap)