Improving N.K. human rights as much integral to peace as resolving nuclear, missile threats: FM Cho

South Korea's top diplomat said Thursday that improving North Korea's human rights is as integral to achieving peace as resolving its evolving nuclear and missile threats, describing the two issues as being closely linked, like "two sides of the same coin." Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul made the remarks at a forum, pointing out that Pyongyang's systematic rights abuses, which include its illegal dispatch of workers overseas to earn hard currency for the regime, have served to strengthen its weapons development and capabilities over the years. "The diversion of scarce resources in a failing economy to the development of weapons of mass destruction inevitably comes at the expense of people's livelihoods," Cho said during the forum held to mark the 10th anniversary of the release of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) report on North Korea's human rights violations. "Sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula cannot be achieved by addressing North Korea's security threat alone. Unless the overall human rights situation improves, any attempts to secure lasting peace are bound to be brittle," Cho said. Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul speaks during a forum marking the 10th anniversary of the release of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry report on North Korean human rights, at a hotel in Seoul on May 30, 2024. (Yonhap) The 2014 COI report accused the North Korean regime of "systematic, widespread and gross" human rights abuses and made related condemnations. The report is considered the first of its kind that has brought the North's human rights problem to international attention. Cho urged the North to "immediately" return all abductees, detainees and prisoners of war to their families, saying South Korea will continue to commit to speaking out "whenever and wherever we can" on multilateral and bilateral settings to bring about a change in the North's behavior. Julie Turner, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, who also joined the session via virtual links, reiterated the U.S. commitment to promoting the No rth's accountability. "We remain committed to holding those most responsible accountable. We're also very focused on increasing access to information ... amplifying escapee voices in shaping the accountability of truth," Turner said. Also speaking at the forum virtually, Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, echoed Cho's view, calling the North's human rights and weapons issues "inseparable." "They are blatant human rights abuses, the revenue of which has been plowed back into the political proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," Cha said. Cha also suggested the next U.S. president, whether it be Joe Biden or Donald Trump, would have to take this into account if they were to deal with Pyongyang. "If they raise these issues to show that the U.S. sees a need for progress on human rights, that they may be able to provide economic assistance to North Korea, in return for any efforts on denuclearization ... from a negotiations perspective, (it) makes a great deal of sense," he said. Source: Yonhap News Agency