[Smart Q&A: Kim Soo-am] North Korean Human Rights Issues and South Korea's Response

YouTube Link: video.eai.or.kr/120523_smartksa_k.flv

Dr. Kim Soo-am holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Seoul National University and currently serves as a Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, a standing member of the National Unification Advisory Council, and a policy advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Current Status of North Korean Human Rights Issues

“Grave Human Rights Abuses in North Korea in Terms of Civil and Political Rights, and Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights”

North Korea's human rights issues were largely unknown to the international community before the mass defections in the 1990s due to the closed nature of North Korean society. The human rights situation in North Korea, as revealed by the testimonies of defectors, is indeed grave. The most important benchmark for assessing the severity of these human rights issues is the United Nations. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) designates countries with poor human rights records worldwide and adopts resolutions. Since 2003, North Korean human rights resolutions have been adopted annually, and particularly since 2005, resolutions at the UN General Assembly level have been adopted.

Specifically, examining the status of civil and political rights in North Korea, the most representative issue is that of political prison camps. It is understood that a total of six political prison camps are in operation, including Kaechon, Yodok, Myonggan, Bukchang, Hoeryong, and Chongjin, with an estimated 150,000 political prisoners incarcerated. Inmates in these facilities, managed by the Ministry of State Security, are known to live like slaves, deprived of all human rights and subjected to forced labor. North Korean political prison camps are divided into 'completely controlled zones' and 'revolutionization zones.' Completely controlled zones are for life sentences, and once admitted, individuals can never return to general society. Beyond political prison camps, various detention and correctional facilities such as assembly centers, detention centers, and re-education centers continue to inflict forced labor, torture, and beatings. These detention facilities clearly violate the right to liberty and security of person. Furthermore, regarding the right to life, which is the most fundamental of civil and political rights, severe infringements are occurring through continuous public executions for acts of resistance against the regime, deviation from social norms, distribution of external information, and drug smuggling and trafficking. Additionally, the North Korean Penal Code includes provisions for punishing concealment, failure to report, and negligence concerning anti-state and anti-national crimes, thereby institutionalizing a form of guilt by association. Meanwhile, corruption is rapidly spreading, leading to an increasing number of cases where individuals are released after paying bribes or receive lighter sentences during resident surveillance, investigations, and criminal trials. This infringes upon the right to be protected by due process of law. In terms of freedom of religion, although the socialist constitution stipulates freedom of belief, it includes a clause stating that it cannot be used to invite foreign forces or harm the social order of the state, thus prohibiting proselytization. In practice, severe violations are occurring, with severe punishments meted out for possessing the Bible or engaging in religious activities such as worship if discovered. Meanwhile, discrimination in party membership, university admission, and promotions based on social origin continues, persistently infringing upon the right to equality.

In addition to the violation of economic, social, and cultural rights, issues of the right to food and the right to health are also severe. The right to food for North Korean residents is continuously threatened due to distorted budget allocation resulting from the 'military-first' policy. While core strata, including the military, still have their right to access food guaranteed by the state through the central distribution system, the situation is worsening for ordinary residents who must rely on the market for all or part of their food due to discriminatory distribution policies, and the right to food for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and children is severely threatened. Regarding the right to health, although a system of free medical treatment is formally maintained based on the socialist constitution and the People's Health Law, the system supporting this free medical treatment has largely collapsed, leaving it inadequately protected.

North Korea's Position on Human Rights Issues and the International Community's Response

“North Korea: Denounces human rights issue as an attempt to overthrow its regime, promotes 'our-style human rights'”

“United States: Provides financial aid to improve North Korean human rights, appoints Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights, permits defector asylum in the U.S.”

“China: Adheres to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, maintains a principled stance based on humanitarian principles”

In response to the international community's calls for human rights improvements, North Korea vehemently protests, accusing these efforts of attempting to overthrow its socialist regime under the guise of human rights. Furthermore, North Korea's fundamental stance is to oppose the raising of human rights issues in other countries by invoking cultural relativism and the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, citing the diverse political, economic, social, and cultural conditions of each nation. Specifically, by promoting 'our-style human rights,' North Korea argues that the Party and the masses are one, and that the Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il regimes have bestowed benevolent leadership, creating a harmonious great family throughout the nation. Therefore, in this 'our-style socialist' system, human rights issues do not exist. In other words, their position is that human rights are naturally guaranteed when people live in a system they prefer. Regarding specific demands for human rights improvements, North Korea responds by promoting its superior system, such as free medical treatment and compulsory education. North Korea views the North Korean human rights resolutions adopted by the United States and its followers as products of hostile policies against North Korea and does not recognize them. It also refuses to permit the visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on North Korean Human Rights and investigations. Moreover, North Korea emphasizes the ills of the United States and other capitalist societies, criticizing it as absurd for countries with numerous problems to act as judges of human rights and discuss the human rights issues of other nations.

The United States' efforts in responding to North Korean human rights issues have garnered the most international attention. Following the enactment of the North Korean Human Rights Act in October 2004 and its extension for four years in 2008, the House of Representatives recently passed a bill to reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act for another five years. This act, firstly, ensures substantial financial support for programs aimed at protecting the human rights of North Korean residents, with an annual budget allocation of up to $24 million. Secondly, it establishes a Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights within the U.S. Department of State, responsible for overseeing and implementing the efforts of government and private organizations to improve North Korean human rights. Thirdly, it permits defectors to visit the United States. Since the initial permission granted in 2006, nearly 130 defectors have settled in the United States.

In China's case, it has consistently expressed opposition to North Korean human rights resolutions being presented at the UN, citing the principles of sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs. China firmly maintains the position that defectors are not refugees but illegal border crossers who have illegally crossed the border between China and North Korea for economic reasons, and therefore arrests and forcibly repatriates them to North Korea. On the other hand, in accordance with international law, domestic law, and humanitarian principles, China occasionally permits defectors who enter foreign diplomatic missions within China (which have extraterritorial status) to resettle in third countries based on humanitarian principles.

South Korea's Response to North Korean Human Rights Issues

“Avoid an 'All or Nothing' Approach”

“Recognize the complexity of North Korean human rights issues and pursue comprehensive solutions through issue-specific approaches”

Realistically, South Korea has limited strategic resources to induce improvements in North Korea's human rights situation. Particularly when inter-Korean relations are strained, South Korea can publicly demand improvements in human rights from North Korea, but it is questionable how effective such measures are in improving the human rights of North Korean residents. In reality, there are various tactics that can be employed within the context of improving inter-Korean relations, namely methods of inducing change through contact. These resources are limited when inter-Korean relations are strained, thus the strategic resources currently available to South Korea for improving North Korean human rights are very limited. However, human rights issues are not inherently an 'all or nothing' matter, so an approach that dismisses any effort as meaningless until the North Korean regime collapses is not desirable.

As explained earlier, human rights issues are multifaceted, encompassing not only civil and political rights but also economic, social, and cultural rights. Nevertheless, it is regrettable that domestic debates often proceed on parallel tracks, each focusing on narrowly defined human rights concepts such as the right to food or freedom of expression. Since the concept of human rights inherently includes all these individual issues, a comprehensive approach to human rights issues could help avoid extreme internal conflicts surrounding the issue. Instead of isolating specific aspects of human rights issues or getting caught up in prioritization debates, there is a need for complex, issue-specific, and fundamental approaches. That is, efforts should be made to create conditions for improving specific human rights being violated at the moment on an issue-by-issue basis, while simultaneously demanding policy and institutional improvements from the North Korean authorities to fundamentally enhance the human rights of North Korean residents.

The East Asia Institute (EAI) is a core research institution for the MacArthur Foundation's 'Asia Security Initiative' program and receives financial support. EAI has been conducting Smart Q&A, a video interview format, with domestic and international experts, aiming to provide timely and in-depth analysis of current issues through question-and-answer sessions with experts in relevant fields. This manuscript was compiled from interview content by Researcher Kim Yang-gyu (EAI Center for Asian Security Studies) and Team Leader Kim Ha-jeong (EAI Center for Asian Security Studies). The opinions expressed are those of the individual experts and do not represent the views of the East Asia Institute. Please cite the source when quoting from Smart Q&A.