1. On November 16, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)’s Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Tomas Ojea Quintana, who was on his first visit to the Republic of Korea. In the meeting, the Minister expressed the ROK government’s willingness to strongly support the Special Rapporteur’s work.

2. The Minister brought attention to the fact that with North Korea abstaining from voting, a resolution on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was adopted without a vote by the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly on November 16 and that the Security Council will hold a discussion on the issue in December. He stressed that by doing so, the international community is continuously sending to North Korea a message urging it to improve its human rights situation.

3. Minister Yun noted with appreciation that since the Commission of Inquiry (COI) on human rights in the DPRK had issued a relevant report in 2014, the international awareness on the issue had been raised to a great extent. He voiced hope that the Special Rapporteur will contribute considerably to efforts to improve the human rights situation in North Korea.

° The Special Rapporteur stated that he intends to seek various ways to ensure accountability of those responsible for human rights violations in a bid to substantially improve the human rights situation in North Korea and to that end, he will meet with government officials and North Korean defectors during his visit to the ROK to learn more about the situation.

4. The meeting between the Foreign Minister and the Special Rapporteur is seen to have served as a significant opportunity to express the ROK government’s firm support for the Special Rapporteur’s mission and willingness to cooperate with him, as well as to jointly seek effective ways to improve the human rights situation in North Korea.


* unofficial translation