▲ Kim Young Hwan at today’s press conference (© DailyNK)

North Korea human rights activist Kim Young Hwan today moved to riase the level of international coverage of the torture he alleges that he suffered while in Chinese custody over a period of 114 days between March and July this year by hosting a press conference for international reporters at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents Club.

“I have consistently insisted that the North Korea human rights problem is not an internal issue, it is an issue that requires international attention,” Kim emphasized to the assembled reporters, adding, “The cruel treatment and torture I suffered in China is similarly not a Chinese problem, not a Korean problem, it is a problem requiring international attention, criticism and assistance.”

“As someone who has been ordinarily focused on North Korean human rights, I do not want the Chinese human rights problem to cover up and cause negligence of the North Korean human rights problem,” he pointed out, but went on to say that if the current furore over the torture he went through at the hands of the Chinese security services were to lead to reduced abuses and use of torture in the country, then it would be a very important step.

“My plan is to continue raising this problem,” he said, and urged reporters to devote more energy to the issue.