Former UN chief Ban lauds Seoul's co-sponsorship of North Korean human rights resolution
Published: 25 Nov. 2025, 18:00
![Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrives at the Global World Food Day Ceremony in Rome on Oct. 16. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/25/bb9f2715-7e08-42ac-954b-c65f018ccc26.jpg)
Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrives at the Global World Food Day Ceremony in Rome on Oct. 16. [AP/YONHAP]
Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday lauded South Korea's co-sponsorship of this year's UN resolution condemning human rights violations in North Korea.
Ban made the remarks in his keynote speech to an international conference on North Korean human rights held in Seoul, after the UN General Assembly's Third Committee adopted a resolution against North Korea's human rights abuses last week in New York.
A total of 61 countries co-sponsored the annually adopted resolution, including South Korea under the Lee government, which has been making overtures to resume dialogue with North Korea.
The move marks a departure from the former Moon Jae-in administration, which withheld its support for the resolution from 2019 to 2021.
The resolution will be reviewed at the upcoming General Assembly plenary session next month for final adoption.
"It is noteworthy," Ban said of the action. "[It] would be viewed as the new Korean government's recognition that North Korean human rights issues constitute one of the universal values."
Ban pointed to "a lack of coherence" in the South's approach to human rights issues in the North depending on changes of government between the conservative and progressive blocs, as he delved into obstacles to addressing the issue.
Political deadlock between the two major parties has also left the North Korean Human Rights Foundation, an organization envisioned under a 2016 North Korea human rights law intended to promote research and activities on North Korean human rights, still unlaunched, he said.
"North Korea's human rights situation remains grim for long-suffering North Koreans, while Pyongyang's spending continues to expand," he noted, urging the international community not to overlook the issue.
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)