"North Korea violates the human rights of its own citizens in devastating and tragic ways, and is actively positioning itself to become one of the greatest and most dangerous threats to the security and safety of America," Franks said.

North Korea's State Security Agency maintains at least 12 political prisons and an estimated 30 forced labor and labor education camps.  In just five of those 12 political prison camps, there are more than 200,000 prisoners.  Human rights groups report that its policies include the implementation of summary execution, starvation, torture and experimentation against its own people.  North Korea also illicitly exports narcotics to Russia, China, South Korea, and Japan, and manufactures one-third of all methamphetamines sold in Japan.

"With the reality that North Korea recklessly disregards the lives of its own citizens and the law, and having no more regard for the citizens of the world, America must recognize the real danger of North Korea's willingness to sell its nuclear capability to terrorist groups, such as Al Qaeda, in addition to its own potential intention to use such weapons."

North Korea is one of the seven world governments designated by the U.S. State Department as state sponsors of terrorism.

"Without accountability regarding the financial aid the United States sends to North Korea, we cannot be certain that American taxpayer dollars are not underwriting the actions of this rogue nation, potentially to our own destruction.  I am fully convinced that it is time to reexamine the U.S. policy toward North Korea and seek new ways to bring about the complete, verifiable, irreversible dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear capabilities."