FM Meets UN Rapporteur on N.Korean Human Rights

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Monday met with the UN special rapporteur on North Korean human rights, Tomás Ojea Quintana.

"I believe this is a great opportunity for me to hear from different authorities of this new government about their approach and their policies toward the human rights situation" in the North, Quintana said.

He emphasized a "two-track approach" to improving human rights in the North, both by calling it to account and engaging in dialogue.

Kang said human rights in the North are a "matter of great concern" to the new government in Seoul.

She said the government will continue to seek dialogue with Pyongyang but keep up sanctions and pressure in cooperation with the international community to counter its nuclear and missile threats.

In an earlier meeting with Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung, Quintana asked about President Moon Jae-in's recent peace overture and proposal of inter-Korean talks.

A former human rights lawyer and UN special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Quintana has stressed the need to ramp up pressure on the North Korean regime by stirring up international public opinion about its egregious human rights violations.

This is his second visit to Seoul since he took the job two years ago.