North Korea recently expressed strong opposition to discussions between South Korea and the United States regarding human rights issues in North Korea.
On Monday, a statement released by North Korea’s state-run media outlet, the Korean Central News Agency, criticized the meeting between U.S. State Department officials and South Korean authorities. The statement came from an official in North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, denouncing the discussions as a human rights conspiracy against North Korea.
This criticism was directed at the meeting on Friday at which South Korea’s Vice Minister of Unification, Kim Soo Kyung, met with the U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights, Julie Turner, and the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, Beth Van Schaack, to discuss cooperation on North Korean human rights issues.
North Korea accused Turner of highlighting the spread of information and religion into the country as a key element of U.S. policy, which the regime interpreted as an attempt to erode its ideological foundation. The North Korean official described the U.S. focus on human rights as a “violent infringement” on the nation’s dignity and sovereignty, calling it a “serious political provocation.”
The statement also warned that increased U.S. pressure on human rights only highlights the failure of Washington’s denuclearization policy. The official vowed that any threats to North Korea’s sovereignty or security would be “mercilessly eradicated” and pledged to continue taking strong measures to protect the rights of the North Korean people.