The Korea Herald

지나쌤

U.S. envoy on N. Korean human rights arrives in S. Korea

By KH디지털2

Published : Nov. 11, 2014 - 09:50

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The U.S. special envoy on North Korean human rights issues arrived in Seoul on Tuesday amid the United Nations' quickening move to adopt a resolution on the communist country's dire human rights situation.

Robert King landed in South Korea in the morning on his three-day trip reportedly to be focused on the on-going U.N. moves.

Late last month, a draft resolution on the North Korean human rights issue was submitted to the U.N.'s Third Committee, dealing with social and humanitarian affairs. Member countries are now planning to adopt the resolution in the U.N. General Assembly, which calls for referring North Korea's human rights violations to the International Criminal Court.

During this visit, King is scheduled to meet with South Korean Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Hwang Joon-kook as well as other security officials.

King will also attend a human rights forum in Seoul and tour a local resettlement center for North Korean defectors.

   King's visit also came just three days after the North sent two American detainees, who had been held up in the communist country, back home.

   The recent release by the North was also expected to dominate King's upcoming consultations with South Korean officials.

   King's trip comes a day after Marzuki Darusman, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, flew into Seoul to meet government officials and human rights activists.

   The purpose of his visit, scheduled to end on Friday, is to collect information needed for a report to be submitted to the U.N.

Human Rights Council and the U.N. General Assembly. (Yonhap)