U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) has invited Jang Gil-su, a 17-year-old North Korean defector, to a reception hosted by the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. Jang was at the center of a high-profile bid for asylum when he and his family staged a sit-in at Beijing's office of the United Nations High Comh Commissioner for Refugees in June last year. In an open letter to Yang Sung-chul, South Korea's ambassador to the United States, Brownback asked Seoul to arrange for Jang to be able to attend the official reception Sept. 4 at the Russell Rotunda, where a photo exhibition of pictures featuring Jang's family will be held.