Seoul to co-sponsor UN resolution on North Korea rights

## Summary
Advertisement East Asia Seoul to co-sponsor UN resolution on North Korea rights North Korea has long been accused of widespread rights abuses, including running prison camps and severely restricting freedom of expression and access to information. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST SEOUL: South Korea will co-sponsor an annual United Nations resolution on North Korean human rights, its foreign ministry said late on Saturday (Mar 28), despite some expectations Seoul might refrain from backing it to improve ties with Pyongyang. Seoul has decided to "take part as a co-sponsor of the North Korean human rights resolution", the foreign ministry said in a statement sent to AFP. The EU- and Australia-drafted resolution is expected to be adopted at a regular UN Human Rights Council session later this month, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

## Article Content
Advertisement
East Asia
Seoul to co-sponsor UN resolution on North Korea rights
North Korea has long been accused of widespread rights abuses, including running prison camps and severely restricting freedom of expression and access to information.
This photo shows a North Korean soldier standing guard in a watch tower next to a giant loudspeaker, near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas in Paju on Jun 12, 2025. (File photo: AFP/Anthony Wallace)
28 Mar 2026 10:22PM
(Updated: 28 Mar 2026 10:27PM)
Bookmark
Bookmark
Share
WhatsApp
Telegram
Facebook
Twitter
Email
LinkedIn
Set CNA as your preferred source on Google
Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results.
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
SEOUL: South Korea will co-sponsor an annual United Nations resolution on North Korean human rights, its foreign ministry said late on Saturday (Mar 28), despite some expectations Seoul might refrain from backing it to improve ties with Pyongyang.
North Korea has long been accused by the United Nations and other critics of widespread rights abuses, including running prison camps and severely restricting freedom of expression and access to information, while little is known about its criminal justice system.
Despite repeated overtures by South Korea's dovish President Lee Jae Myung, North Korea has recently and formally labelled Seoul its
"most hostile entity"
and warned it would respond "mercilessly" to any perceived provocations.
Seoul has decided to "take part as a co-sponsor of the North Korean human rights resolution", the foreign ministry said in a statement sent to AFP.
CNA Games
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less
The decision was "based on the stance of cooperating with the international community to bring about substantive improvements in the human rights of the North Korean people, and following consultations among relevant government agencies", it added.
The announcement came days after - and despite - comments by Seoul's unification minister Chung Dong-young, who suggested Seoul should withhold support for the resolution as Pyongyang sees it as a fundamentally hostile policy.
The nuclear-armed North has long criticised the UN resolution, and under the liberal administration of former president Moon Jae-in, Seoul withheld support between 2019 and 2022 in a bid to improve inter-Korean ties.
South Korea resumed co-sponsorship in 2023 under hawkish ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol.
North Korea has consistently rejected allegations of abuses, accusing the UN of politicising human rights to undermine the regime.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in 2025 that the overall human rights situation in North Korea over the past decade had shown no improvement and in many cases had worsened.
The EU- and Australia-drafted resolution is expected to be adopted at a regular UN Human Rights Council session later this month, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
Related:
Kim Jong Un says North Korea’s nuclear status is irreversible, threatens South Korea
South Korea's Lee to pursue wartime command transfer, selective conscription
Source: AFP/dy
Newsletter
Week in Review
Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review
Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.
Newsletter
Morning Brief
Subscribe to CNA’s Morning Brief
An automated curation of our top stories to start your day.
Sign up for our newsletters
Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox
Subscribe here
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Download here
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app
Join here
Related Topics
South Korea
North Korea
Advertisement
Also worth reading
Content is loading...
Advertisement
Expand to read the full story
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

---

## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in 2025 that the overall human rights situation in North Korea over the past decade had shown no improvement and in many cases had worsened.

### Areas for Consideration
- CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less The decision was "based on the stance of cooperating with the international community to bring about substantive improvements in the human rights of the North Korean people, and following consultations among relevant government agencies", it added.

### Implications
- Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST SEOUL: South Korea will co-sponsor an annual United Nations resolution on North Korean human rights, its foreign ministry said late on Saturday (Mar 28), despite some expectations Seoul might refrain from backing it to improve ties with Pyongyang.
- The announcement came days after - and despite - comments by Seoul's unification minister Chung Dong-young, who suggested Seoul should withhold support for the resolution as Pyongyang sees it as a fundamentally hostile policy.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers korea, north, rights topics. Notable strengths include discussion of korea. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 700.