An international forum aimed at raising public awareness of the human rights abuses in North Korea was held in Spain on Tuesday.

During the forum hosted by Alcala de Henares, or the University of Alcala, Spanish experts on Korean and East Asian affairs, including Professor Alfonso Ojeda of the Complutense University of Madrid, presented papers regarding the North Korean human rights situation.  

North Korean Writers in Exile PEN Center Chairman Lee Gie-myung, a North Korean defector-turned-writer, also attended the forum, where he called on the international community to take a keen interest in what is happening in Pyongyang.

Lee said dictators such as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un should not go unpunished for enslaving tens of millions of North Koreans and killing civilians at his disposal.

South Korean Ambassador to Spain Park Hee-kwon detailed human rights violations in the North, such as illegal detention, torture, execution, discrimination and incarceration at concentration camps. He expressed hopes that the forum will build momentum to raise awareness among the Spanish people.

The forum also displayed a total of 14 works of art painted by North Korean defectors, in which they satirize regime and portray the process of their escapes from the North.

A video display titled “Escape from Hell” produced by the North Korean Writers in Exile PEN Center was also screened during the forum.

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