US official recommends pressure on North Korea human rights violations

Speaking at the Seoul Human Rights conference, ambassador Robert King, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, said, “What we’ve got to do in terms of dealing with the problems of human rights in North Korea is to look at this as a long, tough fight. I think we need continued pressure.”

King said the United States and others have pressured North Korea in various ways, and so far, the strategy has been working. Yonhap reported the U.S. official said Pyongyang is feeling the heat from the international community and a vote is to take place at the United Nations General Assembly in December on a North Korea human rights resolution.

Placing pressure on North Korea to change, however, is just one of many tasks for concerned governments, King said. Humanitarian aid should be provided in a way that can be monitored by outside observers, and in a way that assistance is properly channeled to the most vulnerable segment of the North Korean population.

King’s remarks come at a time when the U.N. General Assembly’s Third Committee is expected to address the North Korea human rights resolution.

[UPI]

This entry was posted in DPRK Government, Humanitarian Aid and Relief, Prison Camps by Grant Montgomery.