The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent government body, has recently placed South Korean nationals, including Korean missionary Choi Chun-gil, who has been detained in North Korea for 10 years, on its list of victims of religious persecution, prompting international condemnation of North Korea’s forced detentions.
The international community, including the United Nations, the European Union, and Canada, has expressed grave concerns over the prolonged detention of six South Korean nationals in North Korea. They have highlighted the grief and suffering of the detainees’ families, urging an end to these “horrific practices.”
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a statement on September 24, expressing its deep concern over the situation.
“We remain deeply concerned about the detention of six nationals of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) for nearly a decade,” OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell said, responding to VOA’s inquiry about missionary Kim Jung-wook, who has been held for over 4,000 days.
“The UN Human Rights Office has consistently reported on the persistence of torture, arbitrary detention, forced labour, deprivation of food and lack of basic health care and sanitation within the places of detention in the DPRK. We remain concerned that the DPRK has not provided information about the fate and whereabouts of these individuals to their families and relatives.”
OHCHR reiterated that North Korea must protect the rights of the detainees and their families, stating, “The DPRK should publish a list of all foreign nationals currently detained in the DPRK, provide detailed information about people in detention to their family members and cooperate with relevant states to resolve this issue as a priority.”
According to the South Korean government, six South Koreans remain detained in North Korea, including missionary Kim Jung-wook, who has been held since October 8, 2013, after being arrested in Pyongyang during a mission trip.
Fellow missionaries Kim Kook-kie and Choi Chun-gil were detained in October and December 2014, respectively. Others include former North Korean defectors who had acquired South Korean citizenship: Ko Hyun-chul, Kim Won-ho, and Ham Jin-woo.
On September 24, UN Special Rapporteur on North Korean Human Rights, Elizabeth Salmon, expressed grave concern over the six South Korean detainees’ conditions and their inability to communicate with legal counsel or their families.
“I had an opportunity to talk to one of the family members of the detainees,” Salmon told VOA. “The anguish and sorrow that the families of victims suffer from are equivalent to torture. We need to put an end to this egregious practice. I strongly urge the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to respects its international human rights obligations.”
The European Union (EU) also voiced its concerns, with EU spokesperson Peter Stano stating, “The EU takes note with concern that citizens of other countries remain arbitrarily detained in the DPRK, following trials that do not conform with international fair trial guarantees, with no information available regarding their health or the conditions of their detention.”
Stano told VOA that the EU has regularly and publicly called on the DPRK to provide citizens of other countries detained in the DPRK with protections including access to consular assistance, and to release persons who have been arbitrarily detained or sentenced after an unfair trial.”
A Canadian Foreign Ministry official also condemned the DPRK’s actions toward detainees. “The 19th marked 4,000 days since South Korean missionary Kim Jong-wook was detained in North Korea,” the official told VOA.
“He and five other South Koreans currently in detention have been denied a fair trial. Canada calls for their release and for North Korea to meet its international human rights obligations.”
Previously Matthew Miller, Press Secretary of U.S. Department of State, urged North Korea to immediately release all those who are detained there in a statement on September 19.
“The U.S. remains gravely concerned about the lack of transparency, fairness, and accountability within the DPRK’s judicial system,” he said. “The DPRK regime continues to systematically violate and abuse human rights of people in North Korea.”
BY YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]
