1. On the afternoon of June 17, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Tae-ho met with United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Tomás Ojea Quintana, who is on a visit to the Republic of Korea.

2. Vice Minister Lee mentioned that the DPRK participated in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)’s 3rd-cycle Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on the DPRK in early May 2019, as it had done in 2009 and 2014; and voiced hope that cooperation between the DPRK and the UN in the area of human rights will lead to substantive promotion of human rights in the former.

3. Special Rapporteur Quintana, saying that emphasis has constantly been placed on the importance of dialogue and engagement in improving the DPRK’s human rights situation, stressed that the international community needs to encourage the DPRK to further expand cooperation with the international community, including the UN.

4. The purpose of Special Rapporteur Quintana’s visit to the ROK, the sixth since his inauguration in August 2016, is to gather information necessary for writing a report that will be submitted to the UN General Assembly in October 2019.

° During his visit to the ROK from June 17 to 21, Special Rapporteur Quintana will meet with government officials, including those from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Unification, as well as North Korean defectors and members of civil society; and hold a press conference at the Press Center in Seoul at 15:00, June 21.

* unofficial translation