Calls are being made for South Korea to ease the conditions for the naturalization of North Korean escapees.

At a parliamentary forum, Jang Bog-hui, a professor of law at Sun Moon University, urged Seoul to grant South Korean citizenship to North Korean refugees, including children born between Chinese men and North Korean women.

Prosecutor Shim Jae-chul also called for eased citizenship rules and Seoul's efforts to protect the human rights of North Korean escapees.

Representative Hwang Woo-yea of the ruling Grand National Party said that Seoul should establish a legal groundwork for protecting the human rights of North Korean escapees.