US Withdraws North Korea Human Rights Criticism Citing 'China Also a Problem'

Criticism of North Korean Regime Avoided for 2 Consecutive Years in Country Human Rights Reports
North Korea Appears to Have Refrained from Provocation Amid US-North Korea Negotiation Deadlock

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] On the 11th (local time), the U.S. Department of State released the '2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices' without including an evaluation emphasizing responsibility for human rights conditions in North Korea.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

In the 28-page human rights report on North Korea, the State Department described North Korea as "a dictatorship led by the Kim family since 1949," and stated, "Shortly after Kim Jong-il's death at the end of 2011, his son Kim Jong-un was appointed as North Korea's head of state and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army," but did not mention the regime's responsibility for human rights.

In the 2017 report, the U.S. expressed that "North Korean citizens face severe human rights abuses by the government," but this expression was removed in the 2018 report published last year.

This appears to be an attempt to maintain momentum in negotiations by moderating references to the sensitive issue of human rights, despite the stalemate in denuclearization talks between North Korea and the U.S. North Korea has denied widespread human rights abuses by its authorities.

Instead, the U.S. mentioned in this report that North Korea has not provided an explanation regarding the case of Otto Warmbier, a university student who was detained for 17 months, returned in a coma, and later died.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also introduced cases of human rights abuses in China, Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba during a press conference on the same day, but did not mention North Korea. While criticizing China's human rights record, North Korea was not even referenced.

Secretary Pompeo said, "We pray for the day when Cubans, Venezuelans, Chinese, Iranians, and all people can speak and assemble freely without fear of their own governments."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.