Australia is preparing a bill that may penalize North Korea for its human rights abuses, according to Kim Young-Soon, a high profile defector. 

"I spoke with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop during my trip to Australia in May and explained the plight of the people in the North," Kim stated. "Minister Bishop sympathized with me and told me she would introduce a bill to address my concerns before 2018," she said.

Kim Young-soon was a North Korean actress and a close friend of Song Hype-rim, the deceased mistress of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. She spent about 30 years in the Yodok political prison camp. Yodok is one of the most notorious gulags in North Korea. 

Kim pleaded with Australian officials to take the lead in putting pressure on Pyongyang to improve its human rights record.

Source: THE KOREA TIMES