SEOUL - Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho emphasized the importance of sustained efforts to ameliorate the human rights situation in North Korea, highlighting the potential for positive impacts on the lives of North Koreans. During the inaugural meeting of an advisory committee tasked with improving North Korea's human rights, which commenced its second one-year term on Tuesday, Kim underscored the role of accurate information and international solidarity in fostering hope and change for North Koreans.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the committee is poised to address critical human rights issues, including access to information and accountability.
The formation of the advisory committee comes in the wake of delays in establishing the North Korean Human Rights Foundation, a body mandated by the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2016. The reluctance of the main opposition party to nominate board members has stalled the foundation's launch, prompting the ministry to initiate the advisory committee as a provisional measure to tackle North Korea's pressing human rights challenges. North Korea's human rights record, marked by allegations of severe abuses such as political imprisonment, torture, and public executions, continues to attract international condemnation.