UN Looking to Establish NK Human Rights Office

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed
yesterday it is looking to establish a field office for the purpose
of documenting human rights violations in North Korea.

The announcement comes after the UN Human Rights Council floated a number of
recommendations on the 28th in light of recent findings released by the Commission of
Inquiry into human rights in North Korea.

Foreign ministry representative Jo Tae Yong told press on
the 8th that South Korea’s stance was to consider the option “should
the UN and international community demand it,” saying that the government “respects universal humane values and remains consistently supportive of the UN’s
resolutions on North Korea.”

Saenuri Party lawmaker Ha Tae Kyung today criticized the
stance, deeming the response weak in comparison to previous governmental efforts in attracting UN offices to South Korea.

“It would be completely unacceptable for a UN office that investigates
and documents North Korean human rights abuses to be in any country except for South
Korea. The establishment of [the office] in South Korea is clearly the obvious
choice,” he said, further pointing out that the majority of North Korean defectors reside
in the South.

“The South must state if they would like [the field office]
or not; the member states of the UN Human Rights Council will not ‘demand’ they
do anything.”