US-Korea Diplomatic Authorities: "We Will Jointly Inform the International Community About the Reality of North Korean Human Rights"

"South Korea-US Leaders' Commitment to Improving North Korean Human Rights... Moving to Working-Level Talks"

Diplomatic officials from South Korea and the United States met to discuss practical cooperation measures for North Korean human rights issues.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 19th, Jeon Young-hee, head of the Peace Diplomacy Planning Group, visited Washington, D.C. from the 17th and met with key officials from the U.S. Department of State as well as private sector figures. In particular, Jeon met with Scott Busby, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, the day before, and exchanged views on working together to raise international awareness of the human rights situation in North Korea.

Jeon Young-hee, Head of the Peace Diplomacy Planning Group (right), and Busby, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
[Photo provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

Furthermore, the two officials reached a consensus to discuss specific cooperation measures at the working level, reaffirming their commitment to strengthen cooperation for improving North Korean human rights as stated in the joint statement issued on the 26th of last month. Previously, President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden condemned in their joint statement adopted after their summit that "both countries condemn the North Korean (authorities) for flagrantly violating the human rights and dignity of the North Korean people and for making decisions to allocate scarce resources to the development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), thereby posing a serious security challenge to the ROK-U.S. alliance."

In addition, Jeon introduced the South Korean government's ongoing efforts to improve North Korean human rights during a meeting with Robert King, former U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights. In particular, Jeon mentioned that according to the 'State of the World's Children 2023' report released last month by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the vaccination rate among young children in North Korea has dropped to one of the worst levels globally due to border closures following COVID-19. Jeon expressed deep concern over the worsening human rights and humanitarian situation of vulnerable groups in North Korea, including children, and it was reported that Special Envoy King shared this concern.

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