Voice of America says that North Korea has signed an optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
 
The broadcaster reported that North Korean Ambassador to the UN Ja Song-nam signed the protocol in a ceremony held at the UN headquarters on Tuesday.
 
Consisting of 17 articles, the protocol calls for strong punishment against human trafficking and recruiting children for prostitution, while urging international cooperation to protect children from such crimes.
  
The signing will require North Korea to present the UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child with a report on its commitment to the protocol within two years. 
 
The UN has devised optional protocols to supplement its Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted in 1989.