Anchor: The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution condemning the human rights violations of North Korea for the 21st consecutive year, with South Korea returning as a co-sponsor after a five-year hiatus. North Korea rejected the resolution, calling it a political conspiracy.
Tom McCarthy has this story.

Report:
[Sound bite: 56th Meeting of UN Human Rights Council (Apr. 4,2023 / Geneva)]

The United Nations Human Rights Council(UNHRC) on Tuesday adopted a resolution condemning North Korea's human rights violations, with South Korea co-sponsoring it for the first time in five years.

Resolution L.9 drafted by Sweden on behalf of the European Union was approved by consensus without a vote during the 52nd regular session on Tuesday at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

[Sound bite: Swedish Ambassador to UN in Geneva Anna Jardfelt]
"May I have the honor to introduce on behalf of the European Union the draft resolution L9, entitled 'Situation of Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea... "

The resolution on the issue, first adopted in 2003 by the Human Rights Commission, the predecessor of the UNHRC, has now been adopted for 21 consecutive years with a number of co-sponsors this year, including Great Britain.

[Sound bite: Great Britain Ambassador to UN in Geneva Simon Manley]
“The DPRK must cease diverting resources to its illegal weapons program and instead prioritize its people’s basic economic needs which are so desperately required. We also urge the DPRK to engage constructively to address its human rights record and to work to bring about permanent change and improvements for all the people of North Korea.”

This year's resolution includes new demands urging the North to ensure freedom of speech and reconsider its law that blocks cultural content from outside the reclusive regime.

The resolution also added calls on Pyongyang to disclose all relevant information to the families of foreigners detained or kidnapped in the North, including their whereabouts.

North Korea's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Han Tae-song, rejected the resolution, denouncing it for perpetuating lies containing political conspiracy irrelevant to the advancement of human rights.

[Sound bite: N. Korean Ambassador to UN in Geneva Han Tae-song]
"This document was written only for the sole purpose of disgracing my country. It is aimed at realizing an unrealistic dream of overthrowing our society."

The resolution criticized North Korea for increasingly diverting resources that should be spent on welfare and solving the food crisis to nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

This year’s resolution was the first to be co-sponsored by South Korea since 2019, the result of a policy direction by the Moon Jae-in administration intended to de-escalate tensions on the peninsula and resume inter-Korean dialogue.
Tom McCarthy, KBS World Radio News.