The US, Japan and South Korea demand that North Korea respect human rights as an essential element for lasting peace

MADRID 19 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Governments of the United States, Japan and South Korea have urged North Korea this Friday to respect Human Rights in the country, a “fundamental” requirement to achieve a “lasting” peace in the region, and have committed to promoting its development for the greater well-being of the North Korean population.

“Today, as the human rights situation in North Korea continues to deteriorate, the Governments of the United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan urge the international community to shift its focus on human rights issues in North Korea toward action, from monitoring violations and abuses to promoting accountability,” stated in a joint statement on strengthening cooperation to improve the human rights situation in the country.

The three signatories agree in pointing out that the North Korean regime is today “one of the worst violators of Human Rights in the world”, denouncing the abuses that its authorities commit “within its own territory and abroad”, including “executions summary proceedings, murders, kidnappings (…), torture and illegal and unjust detentions”.

Thus, the US, South Korea and Japan have come together in order to “intensify (their) joint efforts” to “promote accountability for those responsible for (these) abuses (…), increase global awareness about the violations in North Korea, and to urge the immediate solution of the problems of (…) the unjustly detained people”, among other issues.

They have also agreed to join forces “to counter the widespread risks posed by the use of forced labor” applied within and beyond their borders, as well as to “increase access to independent information”, all in recognition and support of “the vision of (South Korean) President Yoon of a free, peaceful and prosperous Korean Peninsula.

“In the spirit of Camp David, the three governments are aligned in our vision; we stand firm in the face of the greatest challenges of our era; and we are united in our commitment to jointly address the human rights challenges in North Korea, now and in the future,” the statement concludes.