Seoul-based North Korean defectors' groups have denounced the government's decision to abstain from voting on a United Nations resolution condemning North Korea's human rights record.

In a statement announced in front of the main government building on Thursday, 20 defectors' groups called Wednesday's abstention a betrayal of the Korean people. They noted that the resolution's aim was to improve the human rights conditions of their brethren living in the North under the rule of Kim Jong-il.

They said Seoul will hear strong protests from all North Korean defectors and will not be forgiven by the North Korean people after unification.