The US State Department criticizes the ban on warfare against North Korea... "Limited Freedom of Expression"

<Anchor> The

US State Department has released a report on human rights by country.

The report is released by the US Department of State once a year, and in this report, it has pointed out the human rights violations of the North Korean regime and said that it will take responsibility for it.

I was concerned that it could limit the freedom of expression regarding the'Prohibition of Warfare Against North Korea' that went into effect yesterday (30th).

This news is from New York correspondent Jong-won Kim.

<Reporter> In

the 2020 National Human Rights Report of Korea, the U.S. State Department cited corruption and sexual harassment controversy among passport officials such as the fatherland and Park Won-soon incident, as well as restrictions on freedom of expression, including the ban on warfare against North Korea, as major human rights issues.

The Human Rights Report presented the claim that the Korean government is restricting the activities of North Korean-related civic groups, and introduced the fact that the North Korean defector Park Sang-hak's dismantlement of the “Free North Korean Movement” and the start of audits for North Korean refugee support groups.

In particular, he has been critical of the anti-North Korean warfare law.

[Lisa Patterson/Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor: We will continue our campaign to freely flow information into North Korea.

We will cooperate with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and partners from around the world to do this.]

Human Rights Report The North Korean side has not changed much from last year.

He pointed out that the North Korean Security Ministry has committed numerous human rights violations, and that illegal assassinations and disappearances by the authorities continue.

[Lisa Patterson/Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the US Department of State: Human rights issues will become an indispensable element in our policy toward North Korea.

We will hold North Korea accountable for gross human rights violations.] In its

policy toward North Korea, the State Department has once again affirmed that human rights issues are at the center of North Korea policy, not just a means to pressure North Korea.