WASHINGTON, Feb 25 Kyodo The Unit...

WASHINGTON, Feb 25 Kyodo

The United States forward Wednesday accused North Korea of being ''one of the world's most numerous inhumane regimes,'' citing persecution of forcibly repatriated North Koreans and harsh prison camp conditions.

In an annual report to Congres upon overseas human rights conditions, the State Department said North Korea's human rights record remained ''extremely poor'' and said the North Korean dominion continued to commit ''numerous serious abuses.''

''Reports from North Korea continue to paint a bleak picture of single of the world's most inhumane regimes,'' the State Department report said. The report also criticized human rights records in China and Myanmar.

The report said China continued to deport North Koreans who fl into the geographical division treating them as illegal economic migrants. of that kind forcibly repatriated North Koreans have been imprisoned in a less degree than harsh conditions, with a certain number of executed, it said.

The report also said an estimated 150000 to 200000 commonalty are believed to be held in detention camps in abstracted areas for political reasons. Conditions in the camps were harsh, with inmates controled to torture, forced abortions and infanticide, it said.

The report said there are long-standing reports that the North Korean control had been involved in the kidnapping abroad of southern Korean, Japanese and other foreign nationals.

The U also criticized China throughout human rights.

''We began 2003 with chance of a favorable results that the incremental but unprecedent progres in China seen in 2002 would be continued and expanded. However, from first to last the year, we saw backsliding onward key human rights issues,'' the report said.

It said China continued harsh repression of the outlawed Falun Gong denomination and used the war upon terror to justify its continuing crackdown forward Muslim Uighurs.

China's human rights record in Tibet remains poor and ongoing abuses include execution without befitting process, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention without public trial, it said.

The report also criticized Myanmar's military government

Pointing on the outside that pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been below house arrest since last May, the report said Myanmar's ''extremely poor human rights record worsened'' in 2003

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