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The United Nations has passed a resolution condemning the human rights situation in North Korea.

Korea also joined the resolution for the first time in four years.

Then North Korea even mentioned the Itaewon disaster and strongly criticized the South Korean government.



Correspondent Kim Jong-won from New York reported this news.



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The Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with human rights issues.



The member states gathered and adopted a human rights resolution by unanimous consent without a vote condemning North Korea's human rights violations and calling for improvement.



It has been adopted for 18 consecutive years since 2005. Usually, when a draft resolution drafted by the European Union and the EU is passed by the committee, it is presented to the plenary session of the UN General Assembly next month.



North Korea, which sternly rejected the resolution, strongly criticized the South Korean government, even mentioning the Itaewon disaster.



[Kim Seong/North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations: Recently, an unprecedented stampede occurred in South Korea due to the government's poor management of state affairs, resulting in victims.

The South Korean government is not hesitant to play with human rights issues at the UN to avoid criticism of this incident and make it a political issue.]



Our UN representative also immediately refuted.



[Bae Jong-in/Deputy Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations: North Korea's absurd remarks about the tragedy that occurred in South Korea clearly show how ignorant North Korea is about human rights.

Even while the international community mourned the Itaewon disaster, North Korea continued its provocation by firing missiles.]



Although the UN resolution on human rights in North Korea has no legal force, it is evaluated as a means of diplomatic pressure on North Korea.



In particular, this year's resolution added new points about the murder of a public official in the West Sea and the repatriation of North Korean fishermen to North Korea.



Korea participated as a co-sponsor for 10 years from 2008 to 2018, but since 2019 it has not participated due to reasons such as improving inter-Korean relations.



(Video coverage: Lee Sang-wook)