India's Modi eyes first labor overhaul in decades to create jobs

A labourer cuts an iron rod at the construction site of a flyover on the outskirts of the western Indian city of Ahmedabad June 24, 2014.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set in motion the first major revamp in decades of India's archaic labor laws, part of a plan to revive the flagging economy, boost manufacturing and create millions of jobs. Successive governments have agreed labor reform is critical to absorb 200 million Indians reaching working age over the next two decades, but fears of an ugly union-led backlash and partisan politics have prevented changes to free up labor markets. Now, with the benefit of a single party majority in the lower house of parliament for the first time in 30 years, laws that date back to just after the end of British rule are set for an overhaul. Officials at the labor ministry say this is a top priority in the government's first 100 days in office. India has a forest of labor laws, including anachronisms such as providing spittoons in the work place, and are so complex that most firms choose to stay small. In 2009, 84 percent of India's manufacturers employed fewer than 50 workers, compared to 25 percent in China, according to a study this year by consultancy firm McKinsey & Co. The World Bank said in a 2014 report that India has one of the most rigid labor markets in the world and "although the regulations are meant to enhance the welfare of workers, they often have the opposite effect by encouraging firms to stay small and thus circumvent labor laws". Business leaders hope Modi, who advocates smaller government and private enterprise, will be a liberalizer in the mould of Margaret Thatcher or Ronald Reagan. Perhaps the most important change, they say, is to rules making it hard to dismiss workers. First up, though, to win public support, his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is looking to make changes that benefit workers, three senior officials at the labor ministry said. Among the changes: making more workers eligible for minimum wages, increasing overtime hours and allowing women to do night shifts. "We are trying to provide a hassle free environment that helps both workers and industry," a senior labor ministry official involved in the deliberations said. "It is a priority for us." Next on the reform agenda will be the most sensitive issue of loosening strict hire and fire rules. Officials said they have begun preliminary talks with concerned groups about slowly implementing the changes. "There is a definite push ... you will see more measures," said another official at the ministry who is privy to the discussions within the government. REFORMS KEY TO MANUFACTURING JOBS India's 20-year streak of fast economic expansion is often derided as "jobless growth" since the service sector-led model has been capital rather than labor intensive. India does not produce reliable, regular jobless data, but long-term surveys by the statistics department show the country only created 5 million manufacturing jobs between 2004/5 and 2011/12. In the same period some 33 million people left farms looking for better paid work. The majority were absorbed into low productivity and irregular work on construction sites. Moreover, research suggests India needs 12 million new jobs every year to absorb the largest youth bulge the world has ever seen. It has fallen far behind that target. Companies complain that current laws requiring rarely granted government permission for layoffs make it impossible to respond to business downturns, and blame the laws for the country's relatively small manufacturing sector. Manufacturing contributes just 15 percent to India's nearly $2 trillion economy. New Delhi says it wants to lift that share to 25 percent within a decade to help create 100 million jobs. Comparatively, manufacturing accounted for 45 percent of China's GDP in 2012. "If business cycles are volatile, the ability to downsize and upsize should be freely available," said R. Shankar Raman, chief financial officer at Larsen & Toubro (LART.NS), one of India's biggest conglomerates. In what is seen as a test for Modi's labor reform agenda and is intended to inspire other states, Rajasthan this month proposed amendments to the federal law to allow firms in the northern state to lay off up to 300 workers without government permission. Currently, clearance is required to fire more than 100 workers and this is rarely granted. LABOR MILITANCY DECLINES Labor unions cutting across party affiliations have opposed the state government's move and have asked Modi to intervene. The BJP's own union has called a meeting of its officials early next month to chalk out a strategy to protest what it said was a lack of consultation over the shake up in Rajasthan. Since almost all the unions in India have political affiliations, their opposition to reforms has a risk of turning into a full-scale political agitation. But the risk that the reforms could also bring full-blown street protests similar to that seen in Thatcher's Britain are unlikely. Labor militancy has declined in India, although sporadic violent protests like one at a Maruti Suzuki <(MRTI.NS) factory in 2012 which resulted in a death of a company official are enough to make policymakers wary on the pace of reform. The labor ministry has asked for public comments by early July on the changes it plans to the Minimum Wages Act, which sets minimum wages for skilled and unskilled labours, and the Factory Act, which governs health and safety. The proposed changes would standardize minimum wages nationally while increasing the frequency of salary revisions based on consumer prices. Although potentially inflationary, the move could bring millions of workers into the formal economy. The ministry also wants to extend the amount of overtime workers can clock and scrap a 1948 rule that prohibits women working at night in factories, suggestions that have been welcomed by both labor groups and employers.
-Reuters

Japan industrial output rises, signals economic recovery

Workers control a crane to move a steel coil inside a factory in Tokyo May 29, 2014.

Japan's factory output rose in May after companies cut production in April to offset the impact of a national sales tax hike, underscoring views the economy will absorb the increase largely unscathed. The 0.5 percent month-on-month rise compared with the median estimate of a 0.9 percent increase in a Reuters poll of economists, and followed a 2.8 percent drop in April, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed On Monday. The data is likely to support a view that the economy will rebound in the summer from the April 1 sales tax rise and spending slump in the current quarter. That rebound could further dampen expectations the Bank of Japan will ease policy again this year, as it is likely to support the bank's optimistic view of an economy is on track to resume moderate recovery and meet its 2 percent inflation target. Manufacturers surveyed by the ministry expect output to fall 0.7 percent in June but grow 1.5 percent in July, the data showed on Monday. Market reaction was muted. "Output is recovering. But it is still in the stage of adjustments given falling shipments and rising inventory," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute in Tokyo. The ministry maintained its assessment of factory output, saying it is in a flat trend. The government raised the national sales tax to 8 percent from 5 percent on April 1 to pay for rising welfare costs, which has chilled private spending. Manufacturers have reduced production after the tax hike to avoid piling up inventories. Analysts expect the economy to contract in the second quarter due to the tax hike, with a Reuters poll conducted in June projecting a 1.2 percent quarterly drop. However, a bigger-than-expected decline in household spending and a drop in exports in May mean that the contraction could be more pronounced and subsequent rebound may be delayed. The BOJ has signalled that it sees no immediate need to expand its massive stimulus programme deployed in April last year, stressing that the pullback in demand after the tax hike will be temporary.
- Reuters

Following long ban, U.S. could dominate global light oil supply

An oil refinery is seen in Louisiana in a file photo.

After decades of isolation, the United States is set to become a major player in the global trade of ultra light oil as recent government export approvals attract interest across the world. Following rulings disclosed this week, U.S. companies can now export the light, gaseous petroleum known as condensate after a forty-year ban, giving them access to needy markets in Latin America and Asia and potentially threatening the dominance of other established producers in the Middle East and Africa. Companies are ready to ship condensate from some of the United States' massive oil and gas fields within weeks. By the end of the year, as much as 300,000 barrels could be exported each day, according to analysts at Citi in New York, a timely event as Asian countries increase capacity to import and exporters elsewhere face headwinds. "It could have an enormous impact," said Al Troner a condensate expert and president of Asia Pacific Energy Consulting. "It could happen within the next two weeks." Up to one million barrels of condensate is produced each day in the United States, all of which can be exported after some basic refining to reduce volatility, known as stabilizing, according to the U.S. ruling. That is double the amount exported by Qatar, the world's leading condensate producer. The amount exported and where it goes depends on the kind of condensate that is produced and whether it is the right grade to feed petrochemical plants in China or Japan or to dilute heavy crude produced in Latin America. Enterprise Products Partners and Pioneer Natural Resources this week both said that they have received private go-ahead from the Commerce Department to export condensate. Enterprise said it is ready to start exporting anytime. Exports of condensate, a major feedstock for the petrochemical industry, will provide the first outlet for the vast amounts of oil and gas now produced in the United States. It will also give an inkling of the impact that a U.S. drilling boom could finally have abroad if other types of crude are approved for export. Buyers are already interested, not just in nearby Latin America - the closest destination for U.S. condensate - but further afield in India and east Asia, traders and sources said. In Latin America, companies could use condensate as a substitute for naphtha to lighten local heavy crude. Venezuela's state-run oil producer PDVSA and firms operating in Colombia including Ecopetrol and Pacific Rubiales, some of which already buy from West Africa, are "lined up waiting to buy light crudes and condensates if the price is right" said one trader working in crude purchases, speaking on the condition of anonymity. In India, Essar Oil's chief executive L K Gupta said "we will look at buying condensate from the United States if the pricing is right. We do buy condensate and if a new source is opening up that is good for us". It is unclear what the cost of U.S. condensates would be, given that the price depends on the density and where it is produced. Some condensate from the Eagle Ford play in Texas does appear to be cheaper than some grades currently exported from Australia's North West Shelf, according to traders and Reuters data. "According to an internal analysis at our company, the U.S. condensate based upon (U.S.) WTI pricing appears to have cost competitiveness compared with those from the Middle East based upon Dubai crude," said one Seoul-based refining source, adding that competitive U.S. exports could help bring down global prices. LENGTH TO TIGHTNESS The Middle East dominates supply of condensate. Qatar and Iran export 760,000 barrels per day combined, about half daily global supply, according to a presentation in November by analysts at Facts Global Energy. Australia and Africa make up most of the rest. The majority of supply heads to Asia, where importers like China, Japan and South Korea have build processing plants known as splitters that can turn condensate into naphtha and other oil-related products. In Asia Pacific, splitters can process up to 900,000 barrels per day of condensate, according to Facts. But as demand rises, production from existing exporters is faltering. In Australia, where condensate is a by-product of liquefied natural gas production, exports are already declining in part because new gas produced is "drier" than before. In Qatar, domestic demand is set to slow exports. Iranian output has been hampered by sanctions. "The condensate market East may move from length to tightness," the Facts report said. It remains to be seen if the United States can fill the gap, and it is expected to take time to determine whether U.S. condensate is compatible with Asian importers' needs. Some said that no moves have been made to export condensate to Asia from the United States. Sampling could take months, others said. But with demand on the rise, the United States could offer unexpected respite. "What we hope is this (U.S.) export will help pull down prices of shipments from the Middle East as overall supplies in the global market increase," the Seoul-based refinery source said.
REUTERS

Jobs, cars seen cementing U.S. spring rebound

People fill out paperwork before attending an orientation class at the Manhattan branch of the New York State Department of Labor March 4, 2009 file photo.

 The United States can firmly consign its weather-beaten start to the year to history this week with June vehicle sales and jobs data expected to show a strong end to the second quarter. The U.S. economy contracted at a 2.9 percent annual rate, the sharpest decline in five years, in the Jan-March period, figures showed last Wednesday. An exceptionally bitter winter, the expiration of long-term unemployment benefits and a marked slowdown in restocking by businesses combined to drag down the world's largest economy, but these factors should have faded by April. Monthly jobs data, arguably the most important gauge for both the Federal Reserve and the American people, is expected to show U.S. firms are continuing to hire at a solid pace as a virtuous circle of economic activity and growth takes hold. U.S. employment already returned to its pre-recession peak in May, with non-farm job gains of 217,000. Economists polled by Reuters on average expect that to dip by a modest 4,000 to 213,000 in June. That would be a fifth straight month of job gains above 200,000, a run unmatched since the Sept 1999-Jan 2000 period, just before the dot-com bubble burst. "If we settle at a 215-220 (thousand) pace that would be consistent with a transition to a faster pace of growth of around 3 percent," said Lewis Alexander, U.S. chief economist at Nomura. Alexander said he recognized risks, including rising oil prices from the conflict in Iraq and Iraqi conflict and a possible messy end to China's housing boom. "An impact is possible, but I don't think all that likely. It would have to go very badly to materially impact the U.S. outlook," he said. The jobs figures on Thursday, also set to feature a steady 6.3 percent unemployment rate, will conclude a shortened week for the United States, which breaks for Independence Day on Friday. The week will also feature auto sales, seen pulling back slightly in June after surging in May by its strongest pace since February 2007. Meanwhile forecasts for the influential ISM (Institute for Supply Management) manufacturing and services reports point to a further acceleration of growth, with respectively a fifth and fourth consecutive rise in the monthly indices. James Knightley, senior economist at ING, believes the data will support his view that growth could top an annualized 5 percent in the April-June period due to a rise of inventories, a rebound of investment and a boost from trade. Less optimistic economists suggest the jobs, car and ISM reports should at least provide a counterbalance to muted consumer spending in May, reported last week. Such spending rose by just 0.2 percent in the month, half the level forecast, and following a flat reading in April, prompting some economists to cut their estimates for second-quarter growth to as low as a 2.2 percent pace from as high as 4.0 percent before. NO ECB FIREWORKS Across the Atlantic, the European Central Bank meets again, a month on from its unleashing of a far-reaching package of measures to keep the euro zone economy from slipping into a Japan-style deflation. The ECB cut interest rates to record lows - the deposit rate to below zero - and strengthened its pledge to keep them low well into the future by extending banks' unlimited access to central bank money to the end of 2016. It also plans to hand out more ultra-cheap long-term loans to encourage banks to lend more freely to euro zone companies, but the details for such operations still need to be worked out. Overall, 27 of 53 ECB watchers polled by Reuters said the central bank has probably done enough for now. Many among those who disagree say a quantitative easing program is required for any lasting impact on the strong euro currency and inflation. This Thursday's meeting is expected to be uneventful, followed by what could be one of the shortest news conferences in ECB history. Preceding its meeting, euro zone inflation is forecast to hold steady at 0.5 percent after its unexpected fall to that level in May all but sealed the case for the ECB to act. If confirmed, June would be the ninth consecutive month of inflation in the ECB's "danger zone" of below 1 percent. STABILITY, MODEST GROWTH Outside the United States, purchasing managers' indices(PMIs) steady for manufacturing on Tuesday and services on Thursday are expected to show a picture of growth or at least stability despite geopolitical tensions around Ukraine and Iraq. Figures for the euro zone are seen unchanged for June, while those for Britain are seen pulling back from very high levels of May, when hiring in its dominant service sector matched a 17-year high. In China, more comprehensive PMIs for manufacturing and services are expected to confirm the world's second largest economy is stabilizing thanks to Beijing's measures to shore up growth. Factory activity expanded in June for the first time in six months as new orders surged, according to the HSBC/Markit flash PMI released last Monday.
(Reuters) -

BlackRock ETFs near $1 trillion as it loses market share to Vanguard

The BlackRock logo is seen outside of its offices in New York January 18, 2012.

 - Even as BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) is set to amass $1 trillion in exchange-traded fund assets in its iShares business, U.S. retail investors increasingly prefer to send their money to low-cost leader Vanguard Group, highlighting a weak spot for the world's biggest money manager. With $998 billion in ETF money, BlackRock has more than the next contenders, Vanguard and State Street Corp (STT.N), combined. But the company has struggled to compete with Vanguard, known for its investor-friendly low-cost investing, for Mom and Pop's nest eggs. Retail investors now account for more than half of the $1.8 trillion in ETF assets under management in the U.S, according to consulting firm PwC. So far this year, Vanguard has pulled in about $30.3 billion in net new ETF money in the U.S., or about 43 percent of the market, while iShares is second with $24.7 billion, or about 35 percent. That reflects a trend that's been going on for years: at the end of 2009, BlackRock had 47.7 percent of total U.S. ETF assets under management, compared with 11.7 percent for Vanguard. By the end of May, BlackRock's share was down to 38.9 percent, compared with 20.6 percent for Vanguard, according to Lipper Inc, a unit of Thomson Reuters. "Our aspiration is to be number one in flows, and we can't get there without being higher in the retail market place," said Mark Wiedman, the BlackRock executive who heads the iShares business globally, speaking at the company's annual meeting in New York in June. "We are starting to change our voice for that audience and I would say historically we frankly haven't done that good a job." The market share loss comes in spite of BlackRock's two-year effort to win retail investors. BlackRock introduced a line of low-cost "buy and hold" investor-aimed ETFs in 2012, and since then has been cutting prices on its ETFs, revamping its sales team, and pushing a new branding campaign. The firm has cut prices on 12 funds since 2012, ranging from its S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF then to its high-dividend ETF in June 2014. BlackRock says its flows have improved since it started its new retail effort. One of the most significant price reductions was in its iShares High Dividend ETF. The cost to investors for that fund dropped to 0.12 percent a year from 0.4 percent, a move that would cost BlackRock $11.2 million annually, based on the $4 billion in the fund. Last quarter, iShares ETFs generated some $765 million in base fees revenue. "Every basis point that you cut a fee impacts revenues, but we don't really look at that – we look at the profitability of our ETF business over the long term," BlackRock executive Frank Porcelli, head of U.S. Wealth Advisory Business, said at Reuters' Global Wealth Management Summit in June. Asked about how fee cuts would affect BlackRock's profits, he said it was "not relevant." BIGGEST MANAGER With $4.4 trillion in total assets among its various product lines, BlackRock remains the world's largest asset manager and is unlikely to be eclipsed by Vanguard anytime soon. BlackRock has nearly tripled the size of the iShares business since it bought it from Barclay's five years ago, largely by selling to big institutions, such as the Arizona State Retirement System, which plunked down $300 million to seed three iShares funds last year. It has also won institutional and retail investors abroad; BlackRock has a strong presence in Europe, Asia, Canada and Latin America. Total BlackRock ETF assets outside of the U.S. are about $280.5 billion, about 36 percent of the $700 billion total market. Analysts say that iShares' size and scale makes the effect of fee cuts in the near-term fairly minimal on the overall business, but that a prolonged price war could hurt the firm. "It's a tough spot to be in," said Edward Jones analyst Jim Shanahan. "There is some growth potential there, but it is slow to materialize and it has to be powerful enough to offset the addition of a lot of these products with fees less than the current weighted average fee rate." Vanguard, which unlike BlackRock isn't publicly traded, offers significantly cheaper funds. The average expense ratio of a Vanguard ETF is 0.14 percent, or $14 for every $10,000 invested, compared with the industry average of 0.58 percent. BlackRock's average expense ratio is 0.32 percent. "When talking about large, commoditized ETFs, low cost makes a big difference, and Vanguard is a little bit more competitive," said Gabelli & Co analyst Macrae Sykes. "Investors recognize Vanguard as the low-cost leader – whether for index funds, for active funds, for bond funds, for money market funds, or for ETFs," said Vanguard spokesman David Hoffman. "We like to say that we've been lowering the cost and complexity of investing for 38 years. We are also increasingly being recognized for our commitment to providing high-quality products that can play an enduring role in a portfolio." MARKETING TO MOM AND POP The iShares team has been working on building its brand. An "iShares by BlackRock" advertisement now shares the same spot on the New York Times home page as a Vanguard ad that bears its trademark ship. The two alternate in the advertising space next to the markets section. "Brand is important, and we recognize that," BlackRock executive Raj Seshadri, head of U.S. Wealth Advisory iShares and former global chief marketing officer, said in an interview. To succeed better with retail investors, iShares will have to win over advisers such as Carl Amos Johnson, a fee-only adviser and owner of Grove Street Fiduciary in Peterborough, New Hampshire. He estimates that roughly 90 percent of the ETFs in his clients' portfolios are Vanguard funds. "They (Vanguard) have captured the low-cost retail index mind, and even the most naive investor knows that," Johnson said. "To me the brand is not the key, but in the mind of a client, it is a big difference."
(Reuters)

Pistorius had no mental disorder at time of shooting: psychiatrists

South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius talks to his defence lawyer Barry Roux (L) during his murder trial in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria June 30, 2014.

 - Oscar Pistorius, the South African track star on trial for murder for shooting his girlfriend, was not suffering from a mental condition that would have impaired his ability to distinguish between right and wrong at the time she was killed, a psychiatric report said on Monday. Pistorius, an Olympic and Paralympic sprinter, has admitted to shooting dead his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, but maintains he mistook her for an intruder hiding in his toilet in an upmarket Pretoria suburb. The trial, which began in March, took a month-long break to allow the 27-year-old to undergo a mental evaluation at Pretoria's Weskoppies hospital after a forensic psychologist brought by the defense testified that Pistorius had an anxiety disorder. Judge Thokozile Masipa said it was important to find out whether or not the condition affected his criminal responsibility. "At the time of the alleged offences, the accused did not suffer from a mental disorder or mental defect that affected his ability to distinguish between the rightful or wrongful nature of his deeds," Prosecutor Gerrie Nel read from a report submitted to the court. Both Nel and defense lawyer Barry Roux accepted the findings of a panel of psychiatrists and psychologists after 30 days of evaluation. During the trial, prosecutors have tried to paint a picture of a self-obsessed Pistorius who knowingly killed his law graduate girlfriend as she cowered behind a locked bathroom door. Pistorius could face a life sentence if found guilty of the shooting on Valentine's Day last year. Pistorius competed against able-bodied sprinters on carbon-fiber prosthetics, becoming one of the most recognized names in athletics. Besides a clutch of Paralympic medals, he reached the semi-finals of the 400m at the London 2012 Olympics.
(Reuters)

North Korea says to try two detained U.S. citizens

Jeffrey Fowle is shown in this City of Moraine handout photo released on June 9, 2014.

North Korea said on Monday it would put two U.S. tourists on trial for committing crimes against the state, dimming any hopes among their families that they would soon be released. "Their hostile acts were confirmed by evidence and their own testimonies," said the North's official KCNA news agency, referring to Jeffrey Fowle and Matthew Miller who are being held by the isolated country. It gave no details on when they would face court. It was the latest in a flurry of events in the volatile region as Chinese President Xi Jinping visits South Korea this week, and comes a day after Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles, defying a U.N. ban on such tests. The visit by the head of state of its closest ally to a country with which the North is still technically at war could raise tensions. But in part of the mixed signals sent by Pyongyang, the North offered on Monday to suspend military drills beginning July 4, if the South would call off annual joint exercises with its ally, the United States. "The South Korean government should make a bold decision in response to our special offer and take a big step toward the new future to end the shameful past," the National Defence Commission, the North's top military body, said in comments carried by KCNA. Japan has said it will respond to the missile test in cooperation with the United States and South Korea, but that it would not affect talks it is holding with the North this week on the fate of Japanese citizens kidnapped by the reclusive state decades ago. Jeffrey Fowle, a 56-year-old street repairs worker from Miamisburg, Ohio, was arrested after entering North Korea as a tourist in late April. North Korea is one of the most isolated countries in the world, but its economic backwardness and political system is a draw for some Western visitors keen for a glimpse of life behind the last sliver of the Cold War's iron curtain. A job application uncovered by the Dayton Daily News in Ohio said Fowle described himself as honest, friendly, and dependable. Earlier reports in the paper said Fowle had previously traveled to Sarajevo, Bosnia and had a fascination with the former Soviet Union which led him to look for a Russian bride, whom he later married. "Jeffrey loves to travel and loves the adventure of experiencing different cultures and seeing new places," said a statement from Fowle's family lawyer, released in early June. "Mrs Fowle and the children miss Jeffrey very much, and are anxious for his return home," the statement said. Little is known about fellow U.S. citizen Matthew Miller, who was taken into custody by North Korean officials after entering the country the same month whereupon he ripped up his tourist visa and demanded asylum, according to state media. Miller was traveling alone, said a statement from Uri Tours, the travel agency that took the 24 year-old to North Korea, published on their website. A spokesman for the New Jersey-based travel agency told Reuters Miller was in “good physical condition” and his parents were aware of the situation, but have chosen not to make any statement regarding their son's arrest. In May, the U.S. State Department issued an advisory urging Americans not to travel to North Korea because of the "risk of arbitrary arrest and detention" even while holding valid visas. HAPHAZARD LEGAL SYSTEM North Korea's haphazard and inconsistent legal system makes it difficult to predict the outcome for the detained tourists. It has detained and then released other Americans in the past year, including Korean War veteran Merrill Newman, whom it expelled last December after a month-long detention based on accusations of war crimes related to his service history. Australian missionary John Short was arrested in February this year for leaving copies of bible verses at various tourist sites during his stay. Short, 75, and Newman, 86, were released on account of their advanced age and health condition, state media said in the wake of published confessions from the two men. Another U.S. national, Kenneth Bae, a Christian missionary who had been arrested in November 2012, was convicted and sentenced by North Korea's supreme court to 15 years hard labor last year. Pyongyang has detained a number of U.S. citizens in the past, using them to extract visits by high-profile figures, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton who in 2009 helped secure the release of two U.S. journalists who had secretly entered the country by crossing into the country from China. The journalists, Laura Ling and Korean-American Euna Lee, were released after being tried by a city court in Pyongyang and given a ten-year hard labor sentence. But North Korea has twice canceled visits by Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, to discuss Bae's case.
Reuters