Pyongyang: North Korea sharply criticized the recent United Nations report on its human rights conditions, dismissing the U.N. special rapporteur, Elizabeth Salmon, as a “puppet and top-class servant” of the United States. This denunciation followed the presentation of her findings to the U.N. General Assembly, which highlighted severe restrictions on human rights within the country.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the report authored by Salmon pointed out that North Korea has intensified its control over its population, particularly after implementing strict COVID-19 preventive measures in early 2020. The report also criticized the enactment of several laws that incorporate the death penalty and severely limit fundamental human rights, such as freedom of expression.
North Korea responded vehemently through its state media, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), stating it “categorically” rejects the accusations laid out in the U.N. report. The North Korean government argues that the report is part of a U.
S.-led conspiracy aimed at undermining the nation’s image on the global stage.
Furthermore, the North defended its stringent COVID-19 policies as “the most advantageous emergency anti-epidemic measure,” asserting that these actions have protected the North Koreans’ right to life during the global health crisis. In response to criticisms of its three stringent laws, which have been described as severely limiting access to external information and increasing surveillance and punishment within the country, North Korea contends that these laws are essential to safeguard its ideology and social system from external influences, particularly from the U.S. and Western nations.
KCNA also reiterated that the role of the U.N. special rapporteur is being manipulated by the U.S. to further an anti-North Korea human rights agenda, dismissing the report as based on “rubbish and false rumors.”
The escalating confrontation over human rights issues continues to be a significant point of tension between North Korea and the i
nternational community, amidst ongoing concerns about the country’s internal policies and their impact on the population.