Human rights conditions in N. Korea worsen during pandemic: U.S. official

By Byun Duk-kun

WASHINGTON, March 4 (Yonhap) -- Human rights violations in North Korea have significantly worsened due to unnecessarily restrictive and harsh measures taken by Pyongyang to prevent the spread of COVID-19, a U.S. state department official said Friday.

Scott Busby, acting principal deputy assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor, stressed the need for the U.S. and others to continue calling out human rights abuses in North Korea, arguing the reclusive state remains "sensitive" to external pressure.

"The DPRK's human rights record has worsened since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic," the U.S. diplomat said in a hearing hosted by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, an independent research organization based in Washington.

"Early in 2020, the DPRK became one of the first countries in the world to entirely shut its borders in the face of the pandemic. Over the course of the pandemic, the government intensified restrictions on communications with the outside world," he added.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.

Busby noted the North also has in place a "shoot-on-site" order to stop anyone from entering or fleeing the country.

"The imposition of COVID-19 measures that far exceeded necessary public health protections have forced international organizations and most diplomats to cease operating inside the country, which of course makes it even more difficult to get reliable information about what's going on inside," he said.

He underscored the need for the international community to continue calling out North Korea's bad behavior, which he said included the operation of prison camps where "roughly 80,000 to 120,000 individuals including children" are subjected to forced labor and inhumane conditions.

"It is clear that the DPRK is sensitive to external pressure on human rights," said Busby. "This was most evident in the months after the U.N. Commission of Inquiry Report was released when the DPRK engaged in a diplomatic charm offensive or (I) should say tried to engage in a diplomatic charm offensive."

In 2021, the U.S. named the North Korean regime a state violator of religious freedom for a 20th consecutive year, while also keeping North Korea on its list of governments with a "policy or pattern of human trafficking" for a 19th consecutive year in its respective annual reports.

"Consequently, the U.S. strategy to promote respect for human rights in the DPRK has involved three lines of effort," said Busby.

"First, we seek to increase international awareness of the dire human rights situation in the DPRK. Second, we aim to increase access to information for citizens of the DPRK about life outside their country. And lastly, we seek to ensure those responsible for serious human rights abuses in the DPRK face consequences for their actions."

To this end, the U.S. is working to increase the flow of outside information into the North, Busby said, adding, "Anecdotal reports indicate that North Koreans who have been exposed to uncensored information are increasingly aware of how their government's policies inhibit their personal aspirations and violate their human rights."

"We are sending a strong and clear message that those with connections to human rights abuses will face consequences," said he.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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