South Korea has joined as a co-sponsor of this year's U.N. resolution on North Korean human rights, the foreign ministry said on March 28, despite expectations that Seoul might abstain amid conciliatory gestures toward Pyongyang.
SEOUL, March 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has joined as a co-sponsor of this year's U.N. resolution on North Korean human rights, the foreign ministry said Saturday, despite earlier expectations that Seoul might skip the move in line with its conciliatory gestures toward Pyongyang.
"Under the stance of cooperating with the international community for the practical improvement of the human rights of North Korean residents, the government took part as a co-sponsor of the North Korean human rights resolution through consultation with relevant government institutions," the ministry said.
The resolution, drafted by the European Union and Australia, is expected to be adopted at a regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council later this month.
While the government reportedly considered opting out amid efforts to mend frayed ties with the North, North Korea's persistent hostility -- including leader Kim Jong-un formally labeling South Korea the "most hostile state" in his speech to the newly elected rubber-stamp parliament on Monday, as reported by state media -- likely influenced the decision to uphold the universal value of human rights.
South Korea co-sponsored the resolution from 2008-18 but skipped it from 2019-21 during the Moon Jae-in administration. It was among the 61 co-sponsors for the resolution adopted at the U.N. General Assembly Third Committee last December.
