Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=7/4/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=KOREAS DEFECTOR / U-S - L ONLY

NUMBER=2-277888

BYLINE=HYUN-SUNG KHANG

DATELINE=SEOUL

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: South Korea says it will not allow a top-level North Korean defector to give evidence before two U-S congressional committees, unless arrangements can be made for his safety. The defector, Hwang Jang Yup, was once a close confident of the North Korea leader, but as Hyun-Sung Khang reports from Seoul, since his defection, he has been a fierce critic of Pyongyang.

INTRO: The government in Seoul has refused to allow Hwang Jang Yup to give evidence before the two U-S congressional committees because of concerns for his safety.

The top-level defector is presently under the protection of South Korea's National Intelligence Agency in order to thwart any possible North Korean assassination attempts. The agency says arrangements need to be made between the U-S and

South Korean government before Mr. Hwang can travel to Washington.

The 78-year old defector has been invited by U-S lawmakers to give evidence later this month before the House of Representatives. /// OPT /// The U-S Senate had also extended an invitation to Mr. Hwang last year, but South Korean officials dissuaded him from going to Washington citing safety reasons. /// END OPT ///

South Korea's main opposition party is criticizing the decision. It says the government is stopping Mr. Hwang's visit not because of security reasons but because it fears it could derail attempts to revive stalled reconciliation talks between North and South Korea.

Hwang Jang Yup is the highest-ranking North Korean official to defect to the South. A former confidant of North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, he

has been credited with devising Pyongyang's ruling ideology of "juche" or self-reliance.

Since his defection in 1997, Mr. Hwang has been an outspoken critic of the North Korean leadership and has attacked Seoul's policy of engaging Pyongyang. (signed)

NEB/HK/HSK/JO