The government has decided to abstain from voting on a U.N. resolution that criticizes North Korea's human rights practices.
A government source said the decision came after the National Security Council discussed what stance to take on the vote last week. After much discussion among related government ministries, Seoul decided to adopt the Foreign Ministry's suggestion that South Korean delegates attend the meeting but not vote on the resolution.
The decision is regarded to have taken into account the strong public criticism that the government received when it decided to abstain from voting on a similar resolution in 2003.
Last Wednesday, the European Union submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Commission the resolution on the human rights situation in the North. The Geneva-based agency is to vote on the resolution during its six-week session this week.
The new resolution says the human rights situation in the North has not improved despite last year's resolution, and also calls for appointing for the first time a special U.N. human rights investigator to visit the reclusive, Stalinist country.