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| People bow before the statues of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on the occasion of 67th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice agreement in Pyongyang on July 27, 2020. AFP |
A U.N. committee on Wednesday adopted a resolution calling for improved human rights conditions in North Korea that will soon be submitted to the U.N. General Assembly for consideration.
The resolution, if adopted, will mark the 16th of its kind since 2005 that has prompted strong objections from the communist North.
The latest resolution was passed by consensus at the Third Committee of the U.N. General Assembly, which handles social, humanitarian and cultural issues, according to the world body.
South Korea did not cosponsor the resolution for a second consecutive year, but took part in its passage by unanimous consent.
"Our government again joined the consensus passage of the resolution as it did last year under its belief that it must work with the international community for practical improvement of the human rights conditions of North Korean people," South Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York said.
The resolution condemns the communist state's human rights violations, while calling on the impoverished nation to allow assistance from international humanitarian agencies.
North Korea quickly reacted with harsh rhetoric.
"There exist no human rights violations in North Korea that are described in the resolution," Kim Song, the chief of the North Korean mission to the U.N., claiming such accusations are based on false information from what he called "human trash North Korean defectors" that he claimed have been "woven" by enemy states. (Yonhap)
