North Korea Condemns Human Rights Resolution... Calls 'Three Major Evil Laws' "Laws Upholding Ethics"

North Korea Human Rights Resolution to be Submitted and Adopted at Next Month's UN General Assembly
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Calls it a Serious Provocation Undermining National Dignity

North Korea has opposed the adoption of the UN resolution on North Korean human rights, calling it a "political provocation" that distorts the facts. Regarding the so-called "three major evil laws" of the Kim Jong-un era, it defended them as measures to protect ethics.

The North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a statement issued on the 22nd under the name of its spokesperson, "The adoption of the human rights resolution led by the United States and its followers is a serious political provocation that infringes on the dignity and sovereignty of the state."

UN flag. Yonhap News

The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly held a meeting at the UN Headquarters in New York on the 20th (local time) and adopted the North Korean human rights resolution without a vote. This resolution explicitly expressed concerns for the first time about the "two-state theory" promoted by Chairman Kim Jong-un and the denial of unification, and criticized the so-called "three major evil laws"?the Reactionary Thought and Culture Expulsion Law, the Youth Education Guarantee Law, and the Pyongyang Cultural Language Protection Law?pointing out that they severely restrict the freedom of thought and conscience of the residents. The adopted resolution is scheduled to be finally adopted at the UN General Assembly plenary session next month.

Regarding demands for the abolition and reform of the "three major evil laws," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended them as "legislative measures to protect our sound culture, ethics, and morals from immoral cultural infiltration." It also rebutted by saying, "This is a violent violation of the basic spirit of the UN Charter, which centers on respect for sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs," and expressed "serious concern that the practice of adopting resolutions in the Third Committee is being distorted into a political tool to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states and damage their image."

Furthermore, in response to criticisms of human rights violations due to North Korea's nuclear and missile development, it stated, "Protecting human rights apart from national sovereignty is nothing but empty rhetoric," and added, "Taking all necessary measures to safeguard national sovereignty and protect the safety and interests of our citizens is a legitimate exercise of sovereign rights that no one can dispute."