Government tells U.N. "Militarization of North Korea is impossible without human rights violations"

The government stressed at the third committee of the U.N. General Assembly that "extreme militarization of North Korea is impossible without serious human rights violations."

Deputy Ambassador Kim Sang-jin met with Elizabeth Salmon, Special Rapporteur on North Korean Human Rights, at the UN General Assembly's Third Committee, saying that the North Korean regime's forced labor, including overseas labor, constitutes an anti-humanitarian crime called slavery.

Salmon, the special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, said North Korea's recent declaration that it would not pursue reunification with South Korea also has a deep impact on the deterioration of human rights in the country.

He then urged South Korea to prioritize the rights of victims and come up with integrated support measures in order to accommodate victims of human rights abuses in North Korea.

In response, Ambassador Kim Sang-jin said that the government will continue to urge the release of six detainees, including Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-ki, and Choi Chun-gil, until the day they return to Korea to meet their families.