**South Korea to Co-Sponsor UN Resolution Condemning North Korea’s Human Rights Violations**
SEOUL, Nov. 12 (UPI) — South Korea will once again co-sponsor a United Nations resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights violations. The decision was revealed in a document released Wednesday, amid speculation that Seoul might withhold support to improve relations with Pyongyang.
The draft resolution, introduced last week to the Third Committee of the U.N. General Assembly, “condemns in the strongest terms the long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross violations of human rights in and by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, including those that may amount to crimes against humanity.” (The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is North Korea’s official name.)
The resolution calls on Pyongyang to “respect, protect and fulfill all human rights and fundamental freedoms,” and demands that North Korea “immediately close the political prison camps and release all political prisoners unconditionally.”
South Korea was among the 41 U.N. member states that co-sponsored the resolution, maintaining the position of former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s conservative government. The move comes as Seoul weighs how to balance engagement with Pyongyang against international pressure to address North Korea’s human rights record.
President Lee Jae Myung has made efforts to improve inter-Korean relations since taking office in June. His administration has taken conciliatory steps, such as dismantling border propaganda loudspeakers and restricting activist groups from sending information balloons across the border.
Lee has also expressed support for renewed diplomacy between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Last month, he voiced hope that Trump could “play the role of peacemaker” on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea had previously co-sponsored the resolution from 2008 through 2018. However, it withdrew its support during a period of inter-Korean détente between 2019 and 2022 under then-President Moon Jae-in.
In late October, Human Rights Watch and 20 other organizations sent an open letter urging President Lee’s government to back the resolution. The groups cautioned that recent domestic policy shifts “signal a troubling move away from support for the victims of North Korea’s repression.” The letter emphasized: “Sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula cannot be achieved by excluding human rights. Dialogue and engagement need to go hand in hand with accountability and truth, because genuine reconciliation cannot be built on silence or denial of North Korea’s horrific rights violations.”
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry reiterated on Wednesday that its approach to North Korean human rights would remain a matter of principle. “Our government believes it is important to make tangible improvements to the human rights of North Korean people, and we have co-sponsored the resolution based on this stance,” a ministry official said, according to Yonhap News.
The United States was not among the sponsoring countries. In February, President Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the U.N. Human Rights Council, reinstating the position he held during his previous term.
North Korea has long rejected such resolutions as hostile acts, accusing the United Nations and Western powers of using human rights as a pretext to undermine its government. Following the adoption of last year’s measure, Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry denounced it as a “politically motivated provocation.”
A September report by the U.N. Human Rights Office found that North Korea’s human rights situation “has not improved over the past decade and, in many instances, has degraded,” citing worsening food shortages, widespread forced labor, and strict restrictions on movement and expression.
The U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote on the resolution in December.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/11/12/Seoul-backs-United-Nations-resolution-condemning-North-Korea-human-rights-abuses/9881762936867/