By Yi Whan-woo
The world should step up efforts to refer the North Korean leadership to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its increased violations of human rights, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said Monday.
Speaking before the 34th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Yun said impunity should no longer be granted to North Korea in the wake of the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
"There have been countless cases of North Korea's human rights violations…and the story did not end as the world was shocked by the North Korean leader's half-brother being assassinated brutally in Malaysia two weeks ago," Yun said in a keynote speech.
"For the perpetrators of North Korean human rights violations to be made responsible, the international community should refer to cases of North Korea to the ICC as seen from the resolutions adopted by the UNHRC and the U.N. General Assembly.
"Now is the time to terminate granting customarily immunity to those perpetrators, including the North Korean leadership," he added.
Yun said the tyrannical regime has been "directly challenging" human rights norms and other international norms. He cited the connection between North Korean diplomats and the murder of Kim Jong-nam using the toxic nerve agent VX, an internationally-banned chemical weapon.
"North Korea's worsening human rights record will pose threats to the peace and security of the international community overall. We must take necessary measures independently and collectively before human rights violations beget a greater calamity," he said.
Yun said South Korea will work closely with the international community to hold those who are responsible for North Korea's dire human rights record to account. He mentioned Seoul's first-ever human rights act on North Korea that took effect last year, and the establishment of a North Korean human rights archive accordingly to collect and record relevant information.
Yun arrived in Geneva, Monday to join the UNHRC session and the U.N. Conference on Disarmament.
He is expected to underline the gravity of Pyongyang's repeated violations of international conventions as well during his speech scheduled at the disarmament conference today.
The government said it initially planned to send Second Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Chong-hee to Geneva but changed its plan after it was revealed that Kim Jong-nam was poisoned to death using VX.
"Given the serious nature of Kim Jong-nam's death, the government decided that sending a higher-ranking delegate to the U.N. meetings would be more effective in urging other countries to bolster pressure on North Korea," a foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
In Washington D.C., the three top nuclear negotiators from South Korea, the United States and Japan were scheduled to hold their first joint talks on the denuclearization of North Korea since the Donald Trump administration began Jan. 20.
The three envoys are Kim Hong-kyun, special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs; U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun; and Japan's Asian and Oceania Affairs Bureau Director-General Kenji Kanasugi.
Kim said the dialogue this time will also cover Pyongyang's military threats using chemical weapons in the wake of the assassination of Kim Jong-nam.
"The issue of North Korea's chemical weapons will be discussed in addition to its nuclear and ballistic missile provocations," he said.
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| Yun Byung-se |
Speaking before the 34th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Yun said impunity should no longer be granted to North Korea in the wake of the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
"There have been countless cases of North Korea's human rights violations…and the story did not end as the world was shocked by the North Korean leader's half-brother being assassinated brutally in Malaysia two weeks ago," Yun said in a keynote speech.
"For the perpetrators of North Korean human rights violations to be made responsible, the international community should refer to cases of North Korea to the ICC as seen from the resolutions adopted by the UNHRC and the U.N. General Assembly.
"Now is the time to terminate granting customarily immunity to those perpetrators, including the North Korean leadership," he added.
Yun said the tyrannical regime has been "directly challenging" human rights norms and other international norms. He cited the connection between North Korean diplomats and the murder of Kim Jong-nam using the toxic nerve agent VX, an internationally-banned chemical weapon.
"North Korea's worsening human rights record will pose threats to the peace and security of the international community overall. We must take necessary measures independently and collectively before human rights violations beget a greater calamity," he said.
Yun said South Korea will work closely with the international community to hold those who are responsible for North Korea's dire human rights record to account. He mentioned Seoul's first-ever human rights act on North Korea that took effect last year, and the establishment of a North Korean human rights archive accordingly to collect and record relevant information.
Yun arrived in Geneva, Monday to join the UNHRC session and the U.N. Conference on Disarmament.
He is expected to underline the gravity of Pyongyang's repeated violations of international conventions as well during his speech scheduled at the disarmament conference today.
The government said it initially planned to send Second Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Chong-hee to Geneva but changed its plan after it was revealed that Kim Jong-nam was poisoned to death using VX.
"Given the serious nature of Kim Jong-nam's death, the government decided that sending a higher-ranking delegate to the U.N. meetings would be more effective in urging other countries to bolster pressure on North Korea," a foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
In Washington D.C., the three top nuclear negotiators from South Korea, the United States and Japan were scheduled to hold their first joint talks on the denuclearization of North Korea since the Donald Trump administration began Jan. 20.
The three envoys are Kim Hong-kyun, special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs; U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun; and Japan's Asian and Oceania Affairs Bureau Director-General Kenji Kanasugi.
Kim said the dialogue this time will also cover Pyongyang's military threats using chemical weapons in the wake of the assassination of Kim Jong-nam.
"The issue of North Korea's chemical weapons will be discussed in addition to its nuclear and ballistic missile provocations," he said.
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