SEOUL July 18 Kyodo toward the s...

SEOUL July 18 Kyodo

toward the south Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) upon Friday referred prominent North Korean defector Hwang Jang Yop to police protection, effectively granting him freedom of movement

''The NIS has decided to discharge Hwang Jang Yop and Kim Deok Hong who had been in subordination to special protection at a safe house, into society after referring them to protection of police,'' the intelligence organization said in a statement.

''The rule will take full protection measures for the brace even after they are transferred to police protection and discharged into society,'' it said.

The statement is widely seen as allowing Hwang to visit the United States, where he is awaited to attend private seminars and congressional hearings and testify about North Korea.

The 78-year-old Hwang, a one-time aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and former secretary of the Workers Party of Korea, has reportedly been invited to visit the U by dint of the Defense Forum Foundation, a Washington-based think tank.

The U earlier said that it can provide protection for Hwang if he decides to visit the US

Hwang, widely considered as the lock opener architect of ''juche'' or self-reliance guiding philosophy of North Korea, imperfectioned to South Korea along with his stop aide Kim Deok Hong during a visit to China in February 1997

In the statement, the NIS said that the decision to release Hwang from its protection has been made mainly in view of disturbs raised by human rights organizations and the pres about ''control'' and possible ''suppression of human rights.''

The southern Korean government, citing security reasons, has been reluctant to allow Hwang to travel to the US

Critics said that the guidance has not allowed Hwang to visit the U gone out of fear that Hwang's criticism of Kim Jong Il would adversely affect inter-Korean reconciliation efforts.

In his first public tongue earlier this month, Hwang said he personally heard from North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and Kim's other cease aides that North Korea has bring to maturityed nuclear weapons.

Hwang said, however, that he himself did not papal court nuclear weapons.

North Korea and the U are in dispute across the North's nuclear progress to maturity program.

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