North Korea is scrambling to control damage from a proposed U.N. resolution on its human rights problem and that's a sign the communist regime is losing the battle, the U.S. special envoy on the issue said Friday.

   Amb. Robert King, the special U.S. envoy for North Korean human rights issues, made the remark during a speech at a Korea Economic Institute forum, referring to brisk diplomacy Pyongyang has been engaged in to cope with the resolution expected to be adopted later this year.

   The proposed resolution, written by the European Union, calls for referring North Korea's human rights abuses to the International Criminal Court in line with a report from the U.N. Commission of Inquiry that branded Pyongyang's human rights violations as "crimes against humanity."

   "One of the things that's been interesting to see how much of an impact this has had is to see the North Koreans scrambling to deal with it. They have gotten such horrendous publicity that they've really come out of their shell and started fighting back," King said.

   Pointing out that the North sent its foreign minister to the U.N. General Assembly last month for the first time in 15 years as part of such damage control efforts, King said, "The North Koreans are losing the battle."

   He added, "They're recognizing it. They're becoming engaged. They're sending their foreign minister and others around the world to try to see if they can stop the damage. We have to use this time to fight back and to continue the struggle to emphasize the problem of North Korea."

   King also urged American people not to travel to the North.

   "Do not go to North Korea. It is a tough place and Americans find themselves getting into trouble there," he said, apparently referring to three U.S. citizens who have been detained in the communist nation for as long as nearly two years.

   North Korea has long been labeled one of the worst human rights violators in the world. The communist regime does not tolerate dissent, holds hundreds of thousands of people in political prison camps and keeps tight control over outside information.

   But Pyongyang has bristled at any talk of its human rights conditions, calling it a U.S.-led attempt to topple its regime. Last month, the North released its own human rights report, claiming the country has the world's most advantageous human rights system and policies.

   King compared the two Koreas, saying the South is one of the world's top economies and sits on the U.N. Security Council, while the North is an "outcast" and a "pariah state" suffering from all

kinds of sanctions because of its nuclear program and human rights abuses. 

   "For the North Koreans, questioning the legitimacy of that state is one of the most difficult things that they have to fight back on. It's an area where we need to keep pushing because there's still a lot to be done in terms of dealing with the North Korea human rights," he said. (Yonhap)