▲ Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Hwang Jun-guk speaking at the UN Third Committee
South Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Hwang Jun-guk said at the 77th UN General Assembly 3rd Committee meeting held at the UN headquarters in New York on the 20th local time, "The human rights and humanitarian situation in North Korea has worsened along with the strengthening of quarantine due to the Corona 19 incident." I did.
The case that Ambassador Hwang introduced to the conference participants was the 'Reactionary Thought and Culture Rejection Act', which was enacted by North Korea at the end of last year to prevent the inflow of Korean culture.
The law carries the death penalty for those who distribute Korean videos, and up to 15 years in prison for viewers.
Ambassador Hwang also mentioned the fact that North Korea has issued an order to shoot residents crossing the border for quarantine reasons.
Ambassador Hwang referred to the UN OHCHR report that North Korea's human rights-related crimes should be referred to the international judicial system, including the International Criminal Court (ICC), and asked the international community to take an active interest in the human rights situation in North Korea. .
Ambassador Hwang's public remarks are noteworthy in connection with South Korea's participation in the recent UN resolution on human rights in North Korea.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the final position on whether to participate as a co-sponsor of the North Korean human rights resolution has not been decided, but considering the government's emphasis on value diplomacy, the possibility of participating as a co-sponsor seems to be high.
From 2008 to 2018, South Korea participated as a co-sponsor of the North Korean human rights resolution, but from 2019 to last year, it did not participate in consideration of the impact on inter-Korean relations.
(Photo = Captured from UN WebTV, Yonhap News)