UN Rapporteur: "Human Rights Violations Worsen Due to North Korea's Extreme COVID-19 Measures"

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] On the 3rd (local time), the UN Special Rapporteur on North Korean Human Rights pointed out that North Korea's extreme COVID-19 response measures are violating residents' human rights and worsening the economic crisis.

According to AFP and Reuters on the same day, Thomas Ojea Quintana, the rapporteur, reported in a report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council that "North Korea's increased isolation from the outside world during the pandemic appears to have exacerbated entrenched human rights violations."

He stated that border closures and domestic and international movement restrictions have reduced trade with China by up to 80%, leading to serious problems such as shortages of essential food and medicine, and raw materials needed to operate state-owned factories.

The Moranbong Bus Depot in North Korea is disinfecting the inside and outside of buses to prevent COVID-19./Photo by Chosun Central News Agency, Yonhap News Agency

According to Rapporteur Quintana, the number of defectors migrating to South Korea sharply decreased from 1,047 in 2019 to 229 last year due to strengthened border closures. Additionally, he reported that North Korea established a 1 km-wide "buffer zone" along the border, allowing the immediate use of gunfire upon detecting residents attempting to defect. It is also known that several people were executed on charges of violating quarantine measures, including illegal trade with China.

Rapporteur Quintana said that humanitarian activities such as delivering relief supplies have almost ceased due to the North Korean authorities' lockdown measures. He urged the North Korean authorities to "ensure that the negative consequences of quarantine measures do not become greater than the pandemic itself."

However, the North Korean mission in Geneva, Switzerland, where the Human Rights Council is located, has not issued an immediate response. North Korea does not recognize the UN rapporteur's mandate and still claims that there have been no confirmed COVID-19 cases.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), North Korea conducted 13,259 COVID-19 tests by the end of last year, all of which tested negative. The international project for joint purchase and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, "COVAX Facility," plans to supply approximately 1.7 million doses to North Korea by May.