[imText1]The National Human Rights Commission of Korea requested the North Korean Studies Institute of Dongkuk University for service and published the Report on the North Korean Human Rights to be publicly shared in full text, from which a part was disclosed today.

The Commission requested the North Korean Institute of Dongkuk University for a study on the current North Korean human rights situation last October and received the report last month. It is the first time the Commission has requested service to another institute for a report.

The North Korean Studies Institute of Dongkuk University has produced the report, “A Study on North Korean Human Rights through the Testimonies of the North Korean Defectors” which has been completed by putting together results from the close interview of 50 North Korean defectors and a survey study of 100 recent defectors in the education program at Hanawon.

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea said the report was initially produced for internal informational resource only and had no plan to publish it for the public, but after many parts of its content were disclosed through the media, it published the report today, a month after being submitted to the Commission.

The report evalutates that the human rights situation in North Korea deteriorated while basic survival rights had not been guaranteed since the economic crisis of the 1990s where many people starved to death, and points out that South Korea must put an active effort to improve North Korean human rights situation.

The 170 pages long report testifies about serious human rights violations including forced abortion and public execution which occur in jip-kyul-so (detention facilities where arrested North Korean defectors are gathered prior to repatriation).

The study included in the report shows what the defectors have experienced and are aware of; discrimination due to the origin, family line (89%), public executions (94%), corruption and injustice (88%), abduction (human trafficking) (83%), and forced abortion (about 60%).

NK Human Rights Revealed through Statistics

Human Rights situation in North Korea which have been testified by defectors have been put into statistics.

More than 75% have seen public execution in person, and with the people who have heard of it, almost all the defectors have direct or indirect experience of public execution.

Mr. Kim (male, age 49), a defector fro Onsung, North Hamkyung province, testified, “I have seen public executions the most when I was in detention camp, in 1997 I think it was about 30-40 that I have seen in four months, but their crime for being publicly executed was simply that they cut off 15m of rail track for freight truck because they were having a hard time making a living.”

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has not provided any official statement on the video clip on Huiryeong public execution which The DailyNK reported and shared with the public last March.

The report includes a shocking data of the women defectors repatriated from a third country who have experienced forced abortion (3%), seen it in person (21%) and heard of it (35%); in total 61% are aware of forced abortion.

Until now, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea has been repeatedly stated that there needs a prudent approach toward the North Korean human rights problem whenever where was a dispute raised, taking into account the South-North relations.