 By Carter Thompson, HRNK Research Intern
Edited by Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Sophia Hapin, HRNK Research Intern May 6, 2021 North Korea and the Kim regime are synonymous with nuclear weapons proliferation and isolationism. However, there is much more occurring that fails to reach the mainstream media when it comes to North Korea. While the regime’s nuclear priorities fill the news, a much darker truth continues unencumbered—crimes against humanity. North Korea runs merciless political prison camps in which arbitrarily imprisoned individuals are forced to endure brutal crimes, including torture, starvation, forced abortions, and enslavement.[1] Justice Michael Kirby, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, stated that the crimes being committed in these camps rival those committed by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.[2] How then, is nothing being done? Perhaps it is the Kim regime’s nuclear capabilities or the protection of Russia and China’s veto power on the United Nations Security Council shielding North Korea. Maybe the complicated legal framework of sovereignty and intervening in a state’s affairs erects an additional barrier. Undoubtedly, all of these factors play a role. However, is it possible that there is another contributing factor, something grimmer, something that is not being asked in the highest levels of academia and international governing bodies regarding passivity—do we just not care enough?
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 By Damian Reddy, HRNK Research Intern
Edited by Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Sophia Hapin, HRNK Research Intern May 5, 2021 In a public statement to the Human Rights Council in March 2014, the Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Michael Kirby, asserted that the North Korean government had established a system of apartheid.[1] This was further emphasized in 2015 in Seoul, South Korea, by former United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights, Navi Pillay, who expressed her thoughts on the North Korean government by likening it to South Africa’s discriminatory apartheid regime. She further stressed that North Korea’s songbun caste system is, in fact, a new form of apartheid.[2] North Korea’s government is actively practicing apartheid, a crime against humanity that is condemned by international law. The main question is whether it is possible to extend the meaning and legal definition of apartheid to be inclusive of a system that is perpetrating human rights violations, but not only in the strict sense of racial segregation as seen in South Africa.  By Sophia Hapin, HRNK Research Intern
Edited by Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Carter Thompson, HRNK Research Intern April 1, 2021 Introduction North Korea is the most oppressive regime in the world, in a state of seemingly endless humanitarian crisis. Yet, while the struggles of North Koreans have reached the attention of global, mainstream media, denuclearization remains the top priority of many governments and institutions. The threat of aggression from the regime is indeed prevalent, but international organizations and governments must jointly pursue national security interests without compromising or neglecting humanitarian aid with a human rights up front approach.  Photograph Credit: Roman Harak
By Tristin Schultz, HRNK Research Intern Edited by Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Sophia Hapin, HRNK Research Intern March 12, 2021 The March of Suffering [고난의 행군] The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 had an immediate effect on the economic sustainability of ideologically aligned nations, many of which were economically, politically, and militarily dependent on the formers Soviet Union. Subsequently, following the expiration of their previous caretaker, and in an effort to avoid total economic catastrophe, ex-allies Cuba and Vietnam fortified their economic resilience through a diversification of trade partners.[1] Conversely, Kim Il-sung and North Korea persevered with juche, or “self-reliance,” as the pièce de résistance of the regime. Consequently, from the erroneous emphasis on food self-sufficiency and perpetuated by an inability to effectively respond to exogenous supply shocks, emerged the Arduous March, a catastrophic famine in the 1990s that, by some estimates, led to the death of one million North Koreans or roughly five percent of the population.[2]  Photograph Credit: Gage Skidmore
By Jane Kuper, HRNK Research Intern Edited by Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs, and Sophia Hapin, HRNK Research Intern March 10, 2021 There is no doubt that President Joe Biden has inherited some of the most difficult policy issues in recent history. Although he may be focused on issues like coronavirus relief, racial injustice, climate change, and immigration reform, America’s relationship with North Korea is an area that urgently needs attention. President Biden is likely to take a more traditional role than President Trump regarding foreign relations, but how will he address the human rights abuses committed by the regime? |
DedicationHRNK staff members and interns wish to dedicate this program to our colleague Katty Chi. A native of Chile and graduate of the London School of Economics, Katty became a North Korean human rights defender in her early 20s. Katty was chief of international affairs with the North Korea Strategy Center (NKSC) in Seoul from 2010 to 2014 and worked with the Seoul Office of Liberty in North Korea (LinK) from 2019 to 2020. A remarkable member of our small North Korean human rights community, Katty brought inspiration and good humor to all. Katty passed away in Seoul this past May, at the young age of 32. She is survived by her parents and brother living in Chile. With the YPWP series, we endeavor to honor Katty’s life and work. Archives
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