North Korea's control of information for its hunger stricken people is starting to develop "cracks," with more people listening to foreign radio broadcasts and watching outside TV programs and movies, the U.S. human rights envoy said.

Amb. Robert King, special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, made the remark during a speech last week in Brussels, according to a transcript provided Monday by the State Department.

He was addressing the European Parliament subcommittee on human rights.

"Cracks in the information blockade are starting to form," King said. "The latest study by the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors found that 35 percent of North Korean refugees and travelers had listened to foreign radio broadcasts inside North Korea, even though it is still illegal to possess a radio that can be tuned."

The envoy also said that about 85 percent of refugees and travelers abroad have seen foreign DVDs in the North and North Koreans are increasingly familiar with South Korean K-Pop and have seen movies like "Titanic" and "Bend It Like Beckham."

King lauded the EU for playing a leading role in getting a landmark resolution on North Korea's human rights record to pass through the U.N. General Assembly last year. The resolution calls for referring the issue to the International Criminal Court.

"The world will not, and cannot, close its eyes to what is happening in North Korea," he said. "Ultimately, we will judge the North not by its words, but by its actions -- the concrete steps it takes to address the core concerns of the international community, from its nuclear program to its human rights violations," he said. (Yonhap)