President Biden Nominates State Department's Julie Turner as North Korea Human Rights Envoy, Vacant for 6 Years (Summary)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] On the 23rd (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden announced the nomination of Julie Turner, Director for East Asia and the Pacific at the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, as the North Korea Human Rights Special Envoy, a position that had been vacant for six years.

President Biden's appointment of the North Korea Human Rights Special Envoy, which had been vacant until now, is seen as a strategic move to actively raise human rights issues alongside North Korea's nuclear and missile concerns going forward.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Director Turner has worked for 16 years at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, primarily dealing with North Korea human rights issues, and has also handled Southeast Asia affairs at the National Security Council (NSC). In this process, she has extensive experience in working-level consultations with the South Korean government on North Korea human rights issues. She also served as a special advisor in the Office of the Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights. She is fluent in French and Korean.

The North Korea Human Rights Special Envoy is an ambassador-level position involved in the overall formulation and implementation of the U.S. government's North Korea human rights policy, established under the North Korea Human Rights Act, which came into effect in October 2004.

According to the North Korea Human Rights Act, the Special Envoy is tasked with coordinating and promoting efforts to improve the human rights situation of North Korean residents and must be appointed from among individuals who have distinguished themselves in the field of human rights.

Meanwhile, Jay Lefkowitz, the inaugural North Korea Human Rights Special Envoy appointed in August 2005, criticized the wages and labor conditions of workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and advocated linking the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear program with human rights issues. Subsequently, Robert King, who served as the House of Representatives' Chief of Staff, held the position for over seven years from November 2009 to January 2017 during the Obama administration, and the post has remained vacant since then.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.