The US State Department announced that a special envoy in charge of human rights issues in North Korea will visit Japan and South Korea from the 12th of next week, and in Japan, they will exchange views on the abduction issue.
The U.S. State Department released a statement on the 9th, saying that Julie Turner, the special envoy for human rights issues in North Korea, will visit Japan and South Korea from the 12th to the 22nd of this month, and will meet with government officials, civil society groups, and North Korean defectors. He announced that he would meet with people.
Among these, Japan plans to exchange opinions on the abduction issue by North Korea and emphasize the need for an early resolution.
In addition, South Korea will discuss efforts to hold North Korea accountable for human rights violations and ways to improve the lives of North Koreans.
Regarding this visit, the State Department said that in 2014, a United Nations special committee on systematic human rights violations, such as North Korea's abductions of Japanese people and other people, and political prison camps within North Korea, based on international law. The move coincides with the 10th anniversary of the release of the final report, which found the attack amounted to a "crime against humanity."
"Special Envoy Turner's visit demonstrates the United States' commitment to improving the human rights situation in North Korea," the State Department said in a statement.