Systemic, widespread and gross human rights violations remain rampant in North Korea: US official

Students and youth take part in a dancing party to commemorate the 10th anniversary of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's election as the top party and state leader, at the Arch of Triumph plaza in Pyongyang, in this April 11 picture. AFP-Yonhap

The United States will continue to raise international awareness about gross human rights violations in North Korea, a U.S. official said Tuesday, adding Washington hopes justice will one day be achieved for the people of the reclusive state.

Lisa Peterson, acting assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, also said the U.S. will impose sanctions on those responsible for human rights violations in North Korea whenever possible.

"So we do recognize that the DPRK is among the most repressive authoritarian states in the world, and, obviously, we remain deeply concerned about reports of systemic, widespread and gross human rights violations committed by the DPRK government," Peterson said in a press briefing, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"And we certainly hope that one day, justice may be achieved for the people of North Korea," she added.

The remarks came as the state department released its annual country reports on human rights practices, which said North Korea continued to seriously restrict and violate the human rights of its citizens in 2021.

State Secretary Antony Blinken said the reports painted a "clear picture of where human rights and democracy are under threat."

"They highlight where governments have unjustly jailed, tortured, or even killed political opponents, activists, human rights defenders, or journalists, including in Russia, the People's Republic of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Nicaragua, and Syria," he said in the preface of the report.

The 2021 report on North Korea greatly resembled that of the previous year, although the department said the North's COVID-19 preventive measures, which include border closure, further limited access to the reclusive state.

Still, the department said, "Impunity for human rights abuses and corruption continued to be a widespread problem."

"The (North Korean) government took no credible steps to prosecute officials who committed human rights abuses or corruption," it added.

The report said there were "significant human rights issues" in all areas of basic liberties including freedom of expression, religion and conscience, assembly and association, as well as bans on political opposition, independent media, civil society, trade unions and labor rights.

In terms of respect for the integrity of the person, the report said, "There were numerous reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary and unlawful killings."

It also pointed to the North's "shoot to kill" order to kill anyone attempting to leave the country or escape from political prison camps.

"The state also subjected private citizens to attendance at public executions," it said, citing a 2019 survey.

U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary Lisa Peterson of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor speaks during the release of the "2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" at the State Department in Washington, March 30, 2021. Reuters-Yonhap

Peterson said the U.S. will continue to raise global awareness of the serious human rights situation in North Korea when asked how the U.S. seeks to amend the situation in the reclusive state, adding, "We also seek to impose sanctions on those who are complicit in abuses and in violations and as always promote respect for human rights within the DPRK."

She said the objective of the annual reports was not to criticize others, but simply to raise issues that need to be addressed.

"It is not an effort by the U.S. government to judge others. It does not reach legal conclusions, rank countries or draw comparisons," she said.

"So our objective with the Human Rights Report is simple ― Bring the facts to the table. It is only when we're armed with the truth that the United States can most effectively use our voice and our influence to call attention to violations and abuses of human rights worldwide," added Peterson.

Meanwhile, the report on South Korea said significant human rights issues included reports of restrictions on freedom of expression, government corruption, lack of investigation of and accountability for violence against women and laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults in the military.

The Seoul government, however, "took steps to identify, investigate, prosecute and punish officials for corruption and human rights abuses," it said. (Yonhap)