The decision confirms expectations that the new government in Seoul is taking a harder line with the North. A government official, speaking on the customary condition of anonymity, said, "Previous administrations treated the human rights issue of North Korea from a nationalist standpoint. But the new government's basic policy is to regard human rights as a universal value. The government will show the first example of concrete action in the upcoming UNHRC vote."

Men ride a bus in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang./REUTERS

Another official said the government will “probably continue to take the same stance also in the UN General Assembly vote on the North Korea resolution." A draft of this year's North Korea resolution was submitted, as usual by the EU and Japan, on March 19. It will likely be put up for vote either on Thursday or Friday, right before the seventh UNHRC session closes.

The draft resolution extends the mandate for Vitit Muntarbhorn, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, for another year, noting that political, economic, social and cultural rights are being infringed “systematically and extensively.” The draft also states, "There are deep worries in the international community about unresolved issues related to foreigners abducted (by North Korea). We demand that North Korea completely respect all human rights and basic freedoms."

At the moment, most Western countries support the draft resolution, while socialist countries including China and Cuba and Islamic nations are against, calling it discriminatory. Earlier this month, the South Korean deputy foreign minister for international organizations and global issues, Park In-kook, told the UNHRC session the country-specific rapporteur mechanism was “an essential means to effectively handle serious human rights violations in each specific country."

(englishnews@chosun.com )