Cho Tae-yeol Meets US Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights: "Comprehensive Approach Needed for North Korean Nuclear and Human Rights Issues"

Discussion on Korea-US Cooperation Measures to Promote North Korean Human Rights

Julie Turner, U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights, who is visiting South Korea, is entering the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul on the 15th to meet with the Foreign Minister.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol and Julie Turner, the U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights at the U.S. Department of State, met on the 15th and agreed to further strengthen South Korea-U.S. cooperation on North Korean human rights issues.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Cho met with Special Envoy Turner at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul on the same day and discussed ways to enhance cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. to promote North Korean human rights.

Minister Cho expressed deep concern that although it has been 10 years since the landmark report by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in North Korea was published, human rights violations within North Korea remain severe.

He added that he hopes to continuously deepen cooperation on North Korean human rights on the international stage by leveraging the unprecedentedly strengthened South Korea-U.S. relationship and the opportunity of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan simultaneously serving as Security Council members.

In particular, Minister Cho emphasized that security issues such as North Korea's nuclear program and North Korean human rights issues are "two sides of the same coin" and stressed the need for a "comprehensive approach."

Minister Cho stated that issues concerning defectors, abductees, detainees, and Korean War prisoners of war should be resolved promptly and that the Global South should be utilized to raise international awareness, to which Special Envoy Turner agreed to cooperate.

Special Envoy Turner said she will continue to work closely with South Korea on promoting North Korean human rights through South Korea-U.S. human rights consultations and collaboration with Lee Shin-hwa, South Korea’s Ambassador for International Cooperation on North Korean Human Rights.

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