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North Korea publishes report on South Korean human rights

December 28, 2015

By Rachel Lee

North Korea has published a report on South Korea’s human rights situation in an apparent bid to counter mounting international pressure on Pyongyang over its human rights violations.

The report, published by the North’s association for South Korean human rights studies, said there have been “a series of brutal human rights abuses in the South that have caused concerns among its people as well as the international community.”

It contained cases of human rights violations and banning of pro-North Korea activities in South Korea ― including the U.S. accidental live anthrax delivery last May, and the deportation of Korean-American Shin Eun-mi early this year. Shin was accused of praising the North.

The report also pointed out 10 other issues in the South including suppression of freedom of speech, the MERS outbreak, large-scale unemployment and child abuse.

The association said the South should deeply think about “catastrophic consequences for North-South relations since such human rights abuse cases are challenging the North’s system and dignity.”

A senior North Korean diplomat made a visit to London earlier this month to lobby against mounting pressure on the nation over its dire human rights conditions, which include public executions as well as beatings, torture and starvation at its secret gulags.

The U.N. General Assembly’s human rights committee adopted a resolution condemning North Korea’s dire human rights record last month. A total of 112 countries, including South Korea, the United States, European Union member states and Japan voted for the resolution.

The U.N. has passed a resolution against North Korea’s crimes against humanity every year since 2005. The resolution, however, is not legally binding.