South Korean President Seok-Yeol Yoon said that the international community should be informed about the human rights situation in North Korea and that the situation should be shared with the North Korean people. The Unification Ministry plans to strengthen efforts to improve North Korean human rights, including the launch of the North Korean Human Rights Foundation. Correspondent Kim Hwan-yong reports from Seoul.
In the Ministry of Unification’s 2023 New Year’s Work Report held at the Blue House hotel on the 27th, South Korean President Seok-Yeol Yoon said it is important to accurately inform the South Korean people and the international community about the rights situation human in North Korea, and furthermore, that the Unification Ministry will play a role so that North Korea can share the reality as accurately as possible. Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said in a briefing session.
President Yoon also said, “Unification is something that needs to be prepared, and it is not something that just happens. Unification can come suddenly, but it can only be realized if it is prepared.”
Minister Kwon told President Yoon that he would intensify efforts to improve North Korean human rights, saying, “Human rights in North Korea are as important as North Korea’s denuclearization.”
While strengthening cooperation with the National Assembly for the launch of the North Korea Human Rights Foundation, the Unification Ministry also announced its policy to fulfill the actual role of the foundation until the foundation is launched.
The North Korean Human Rights Act came into force in September 2016, but the North Korean Human Rights Foundation based on this law has not yet been launched due to disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties over the composition of the board of directors.
The Unification Ministry plans to launch the tentatively named ‘North Korea Human Rights Foundation Preparation Committee’, which will support private sector activities to promote human rights in North Korea on an annual scale of 2 billion won, or approximately 1.6 million US dollars, and includes private experts.
In addition, in March, the ‘Annual Report on the Current Status of Human Rights in North Korea’ will be published in Korean and English.
Along with this, Minister Kwon reported that he would draw up the tentatively titled ‘New Unification Future Plan’ as a medium to long-term plan for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.
The Unification Ministry explained that this is a medium to long-term plan for inter-Korean relations and international cooperation to prepare for the future of unification, and is different from the ‘Bold Initiative’ which focuses on solving the North Korean nuclear issue . or the ‘National Community Unification Plan’, which is a long-term unification plan.
This concept will include the vision and direction to build the foundation for free democratic peaceful unification by realizing universal values such as freedom, human rights, communication, and openness introduced by the Yoon Seok-yeol government.
During the first half of the year, the ‘Unification Future Planning Committee’, which is under the direct control of the Unification Minister, collects the opinions of the public and experts, the aim of which is to publish it within the year.
Along with this, Minister Kwon reported that the plan to open North Korean publications would be limited instead of a full opening.
First of all, this year, in consultation with related ministries, we are pushing for a plan to ensure that the North Korean Workers’ Party’s official newspaper, ‘Rodong Sinmun’, is only available in about 10 ‘Regional Unification Halls’ across the country.
This is Kim Hwan-yong’s VOA News from Seoul.
