UN: "North Korea's Military Service Situation Constitutes 'Human Rights Violations'... Captured Soldiers Require Protection Under International Law"

Concerns have been raised at the United Nations that the military service conditions of North Korean soldiers may constitute human rights violations.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 20th, this content was included in the report submitted by Elizabeth Salomon, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, ahead of the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The Special Rapporteur submits a report annually before the Human Rights Council in accordance with the North Korean human rights resolution. This year’s report included ▲ the June 2024 treaty between Russia and North Korea ▲ reports related to the deployment of North Korean troops to Ukraine and deaths in combat ▲ the possibility of human rights violations concerning the conditions of military service in North Korea. North Korea still denies the fact of troop deployment to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The South Korean government participated in a dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea held in Geneva, Switzerland, on the previous day (local time). Song Si-jin, Deputy Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Geneva, evaluated the report, which emphasized the serious human rights situation in North Korea and the interconnection between peace and security. He also highlighted the Special Rapporteur’s view that all captured soldiers require protection under international law. Furthermore, he expressed concern over the inhumane treatment of forcibly repatriated defectors and stressed the importance of all UN member states adhering to the principle of non-refoulement. He also called for the immediate release of three missionaries detained in North Korea: Kim Jeong-wook, Kim Guk-gi, and Choi Chun-gil.

Additionally, the South Korean government urged North Korea to faithfully implement the recommendations from the 4th cycle Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and to engage constructively in the review of North Korea’s state report on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), scheduled for August this year. The UPR is a mechanism established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2008 that regularly reviews the human rights situation of all UN member states every four and a half years and provides recommendations.

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