Seoul backs UN resolution on NK despite ministry row

A North Korean flag flies at the Permanent Mission of North Korea to the United Nations in Geneva in this undated file photo. Reuters-Yonhap

South Korea cosponsored a United Nations resolution on North Korean human rights that passed Monday (local time), overcoming internal disagreements between ministries that had delayed its participation. Officials insist the move will not undermine Seoul's push for peaceful coexistence with the North.

“As a directly concerned party, the government concluded that cosponsoring the resolution would better maintain credibility and consistency, while contributing to improvements in North Korea’s human rights situation through international cooperation, even though various views had been discussed among ministries,” a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said Tuesday.

In a press release issued after the resolution passed, the foreign ministry said the adopted text recognized recent North Korean efforts to meet its human rights obligations, including Pyongyang's participation in the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review, while underscoring the importance of engagement — including inter-Korean dialogue — in improving conditions in the North.

"The government remains committed to working closely with the international community to ensure that the human rights of the North Korean people are improved in a meaningful and sustainable manner," it added.

The decision followed days of internal debate. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young had openly opposed cosponsorship on the grounds that it conflicted with the ministry's principle of avoiding hostile acts toward the North, but struck a conciliatory tone after the move was announced.

“The policy of peaceful coexistence will be maintained consistently. This is a compromise between two positions — on the one hand, respecting the authority of the U.N. as an institution that represents the universal values of humanity, and on the other, doing our utmost to respect the other side’s position on issues it perceives as matters of sovereignty,” Chung said Tuesday.

Seoul failed to join the initial group of sponsors of the resolution — which covers North Korea's systematic human rights abuses — on March 18 due to the inter-ministry dispute, before finally deciding to cosponsor on Saturday.

Some officials expect the cosponsorship to set a precedent that would be difficult to reverse under the current administration.

“It is more important to reach a unified position than to focus on differences between ministries,” a unification ministry official said, adding that the decision ultimately prioritizes human rights principles.

South Korea has cosponsored the resolution since 2008, with one notable interruption: the liberal Moon Jae-in administration withheld support between 2019 and 2021 in an effort to improve ties with Pyongyang. Seoul rejoined the initiative in 2022 under the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol government and again in November 2025 under current President Lee Jae Myung.

Two U.N. resolutions on North Korean human rights are adopted annually — one by the Human Rights Council and one by the General Assembly.