It appears that new South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is going to start backing up his words in regards to the North Korean human rights situation with actions:

South Korea will vote in favor of a U.N. resolution expressing concerns about human rights in North Korea, a senior official said Wednesday, a move that could anger the communist country amid an international deadlock in nuclear talks.

The decision by the administration of conservative President Lee Myung-bak, who took office last month, also marks a change from policies during the previous decade of liberal governments, which were reluctant to publicly criticize the North. Lee has promised a tougher stance in dealing with South Korea’s isolated, impoverished neighbor.

The South “will vote for the resolution” at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, the senior official, from the Foreign Ministry, told The Associated Press. He asked not to be named because he did not want to comment publicly before the vote takes place later this week.  [Kwang-Tae Kim - AP]

I commend President Lee for deciding to vote for the resolution and even more encouraging is that the South Korean government has decided to start investigating atrocities committed against civilians in North Korea.  It is good to see the South Korean government investigating atrocities that probably did happen compared to atrocities that did not.

Also encouraging is that Lee Myung-bak is linking future humanitarian aid with South Korea’s efforts to get its kidnapped citizens back from North Korea:

South Korea’s president has asked North Korea to consider sending home prisoners of war and captured civilians in return for receiving humanitarian aid from Seoul.

President Lee Myung-bak said in an interview published Monday that he wouldn’t seek to link food and fertilizer aid to international efforts to end North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs.

“Still, since we are sending humanitarian aid, the North should consider humanitarian measures, without any condition, on the pending issue of South Korean PoWs and 400 kidnapped fishermen,” Lee said in the interview published in the Maeil Business Newspaper.   [AP via One Free Korea]

This issue is one of the greatest disgraces of the Roh Moo-hyun administration that he continued to give unconditional aid to the North Koreans without demanding the return of any of South Korea’s kidnapped citizens.  This disgrace was made even more disgraceful when a 66 year old South Korean grandma had to launch her own rescue operation for her husband kidnapped while fishing in the East Sea 31 years ago.

Lee Myung-bak vowed to address the issue of South Korea’s kidnapped citizens and once again I commend him for living up to his word.  However, will keep President Lee keep this commitment when the inevitable North Korean backlash occurs?  That will be the true test of Lee’s commitment to the advancement of North Korean human rights and the return of kidnapped South Korean citizens.