U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, Julie Turner, met with DFUSA at the State Department’s headquarters building on November 21.
The meeting, which lasted more than two hours, was attended by White House officials specializing in Asian policy and human rights, as well as James Person, a North Korea specialist in Ambassador Turner’s office.
According to the organization, this meeting marked the first time a White House official has attended alongside a North Korean human rights envoy. In total, 15 people were present, including 12 representatives from the Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington regions, as well as three advisory board members who are experts in the field.
During the meeting, DFUSA called for support to reunite families with their loved ones in North Korea as soon as possible.
They also highlighted issues with the involvement of private organizations and third parties, other than the State Department, in the reunion process, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the lack of public recognition of the status of the separated families.
The group emphasized that the average age of the divided families is in their late 80s and 90s, and called for immediate action, as they do not have much time left.
“Ambassador Turner expressed her interest in hearing from the attendees, agreeing that an accurate count of the number of divided families is an urgent priority, and also emphasized that reunions need the attention and support of the U.S. political community,” the organization said.
Earlier, during her visit to Chicago on November 10, Ambassador Turner met with representatives of the Chicago Divided Families and received an update on the progress of family reunion efforts over the past two decades.
Turner, who is of Korean descent, began her official duties in October this year and traveled to Seoul for her first overseas trip, where she met with officials to discuss ways to promote human rights in North Korea and facilitate family reunions.
BY SUAH JANG, JUNHAN PARK [jang.suah@koreadaily.com]
