Kwon Young-se: "North Korean Human Rights Are as Important an Issue as North Korea's Nuclear Program"

Minister of Unification Delivers Congratulatory Speech at North Korean Human Rights Expo
Hosted by SaveNK... "An Opportunity to Raise Awareness of North Korean Human Rights"

Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se emphasized, "The Yoon Suk-yeol administration regards the improvement of North Korean human rights as a task as important as denuclearization and is making efforts on multiple fronts."

On the 14th, Minister Kwon stated in a congratulatory speech at the North Korean Human Rights Expo 'NK Assembly' held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, "Improving the dire human rights conditions of North Korean residents is not only a humanitarian mission but also the first step toward a unified future." He continued, "A country where everyone living on the Korean Peninsula enjoys a free and happy life must be our future of unification," and stressed, "What we must take care of to create such a future is precisely improving the human rights situation of our compatriots in the North Korean territory."

Kwon Young-se, Minister of Unification

Regarding some criticisms that a hardline stance centered on 'North Korean human rights' might close the door to dialogue, he rebutted, "We must not stop or neglect our efforts just because immediate results are difficult to achieve or because it might upset North Korea and make dialogue harder." He added, "First, it is necessary to focus our capabilities on accurately understanding the horrific reality of North Korean human rights and widely publicizing the concrete facts," and "We must continuously urge and pressure the North Korean authorities so that they cannot ignore the voices of us and the international community."

This event is hosted by the nonprofit organization SaveNK and will be held over two days until the 15th. Attendees at the opening ceremony included Minister Kwon, Ha Tae-kyung of the People Power Party, Lee Shin-hwa, Ambassador for International Cooperation on North Korean Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lee Jung-hoon, the newly appointed Chairman of the Unification Future Planning Committee at the Ministry of Unification, and Hwang Woo-yeo, Chairman of SaveNK (former Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs), among others. Kim Beom-su, CEO of SaveNK, said, "North Korean human rights transcend political and ideological frames such as conservative and progressive, war and peace, and represent universal values and the new spirit of the future generation," adding, "I hope this becomes an opportunity to bring forward the future of unification."

Meanwhile, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration published the North Korean Human Rights Report for the first time in March this year. Later, during the process of releasing the English version, it was revealed belatedly that a disclaimer stating "accuracy cannot be guaranteed" had been inserted, causing controversy. However, on the 7th, a revised booklet correcting this issue was republished. Additionally, the Ministry of Unification is also conducting an in-depth investigation into the "actual conditions of forced labor in North Korea," with results expected to be disclosed as early as the end of the year. Although research projects related to labor rights have been commissioned before, this is the first investigation into the specific issue of "forced labor."

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