UNSC to discuss North human rights

Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, said during a visit to Seoul yesterday that UN Security Council members will discuss next week a recent report by the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) on the regime’s human rights violations.

“There will be discussions in New York at the Security Council next week, so we look forward to continuing the conversation on North Korea’s human rights issues,” King told reporters after talks with South Korean officials in Seoul.

“The Commission of Inquiry did an excellent job of examining the issue of North Korea’s human rights,” he said. “The report was presented in Geneva a couple of weeks ago. There was a very strong resolution welcoming the text of the report and we welcome that resolution.”

Last week, the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva passed a resolution denouncing crimes against humanity committed by the regime, following the findings of a report released in February by the COI on the dire human rights situation in North Korea. The report detailed systematic human rights abuses by North Korea, including rape, torture and arbitrary detention.

BY KIM HEE-JIN [heejin@joongang.co.kr]