Criticism was raised that the former Moon Jae-in administration neglected North Korean human rights issues in the name of focusing on restoring inter-Korean relations, but as a result, neither side was successful.
Shin Ki-wook, director of the Asia-Pacific Research Institute at Stanford University , attended the ‘International Dialogue on North Korean Human Rights’ held by the Ministry of Unification at the Swiss Grand Hotel in Seoul on the 14th via video and said, “The Moon Jae-in administration intentionally ignored human rights issues out of concern for North Korea’s reaction, but that did not improve inter-Korean relations. It didn’t happen,” he said.
Director Shin said, “When Korea was going through an era of authoritarianism, the United States and the international community pointed out human rights issues, and South Korean democracy fighters at the time expressed their gratitude.” It’s contradictory to do it,” he pinched.
Lee Jung-hoon, a professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Yonsei University, who served as the first ambassador for international cooperation on North Korean human rights under the North Korean Human Rights Act in 2016 , also pointed out that the North Korean human rights issue was too far removed from the previous administration.
Professor Lee said, “The Moon Jae-in administration put too much emphasis on ‘Sunshine Policy 2.0’ ” and “The North Korean Human Rights Foundation 토토 was still not established due to the opposition of the Democratic Party of Korea, and it took five years for my successor, Ambassador Lee Shin-hwa, to be appointed.”
Citing the case of forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen and the shooting of a public official in the West Sea, “It is very inhumane and anti-constitutional.
Lee Shin-hwa, Ambassador for International Cooperation on Human Rights in North Korea, who chaired the forum, said, “Unfortunately, the term North Korean human rights has become a subject of great debate both domestically and internationally.” It was also excluded from the negotiation agenda.”
Experts agreed that the North Korean human rights issue should be dealt with steadily and continuously. “Denuclearization and human rights in North Korea are not zero-sum games,” said
Victor Cha, chair of the Center for Strategic and International Studies ( CSIS ) in the US. .
“The United States has (promised) to provide economic, energy and food aid as a precondition for denuclearization, but at present it is difficult for American companies to get involved in North Korea,” he said.
He also suggested that “the Kim Jong-un regime does not blink even if it imposes more sanctions, but North Korean human rights are the Achilles’ heel” and that it should be constantly discussed.
Ambassador Lee Shin-hwa said, “Human rights violations in North Korea and North Korea’s military provocations are like two sides of the same coin.”
Robert King, former U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, said, “The new coronavirus infection (Corona 19 )), border control has become more severe, making it difficult to provide information to North Korea and to obtain information within North Korea,”