By Diplomacy Journal Kim Ji-eun

Chun Young-hee, head of the Ministry of Foreign Ministry's Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Bureau, hosted a roundtable for diplomatic corps members of the Peace Club, with about 20 participants, including ambassadors from the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, and Brazil. 

The Peace Club is a council between the diplomatic missions (20) of countries with permanent missions in North Korea and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

 
Sharing the latest developments on the Korean Peninsula, Chun said that since the beginning of the year 2024, North Korea has been creating anxiety in the region through continuous artillery barrages and ballistic and cruise missile launches in the West Sea, as well as threatening rhetoric against South Korea, such as "hostile relations between the two countries. 

The DPRK's behavior is an act of political provocation aimed at forgetting our nation and history and dividing our society, and our government will respond decisively to it, he said.

Chun pointed out that the DPRK admitted at a recent meeting of the Party's Politburo ('24.1.23-24) that it is in a "very pathetic state, unable to provide even the basic necessities of life, including basic food, to the people in rural areas. 

In particular, he stressed that the issue of human rights in North Korea is related to international peace and security as well as the Korean Peninsula, as it raises funds for weapons development through forced labor and exploitation of the people, and that the international community's attention is needed to improve the dire human rights and humanitarian situation of the North Korean people.

 
In addition, Chun said that the international community's attention is spreading, with the European Union recently announcing that it will continue to address the issue of North Korean human rights as one of the main human rights issues on the UN stage in 2024, and that Korea will strive to revitalize discussions within the Security Council to improve the human rights situation in North Korea. 

In particular, as this year marks the 10th anniversary of the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) report on North Korea, he called for the attention and support of Peace Club countries that have diplomatic relations with North Korea to improve the dire human rights situation in the country.

The diplomatic corps members of the Peace Club expressed their appreciation for the analysis and outlook of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea's aggressive behavior since the beginning of the year, and the explanation of the South Korean government's response, and said they will continue to pay special attention to and cooperate with North Korean human rights issues.

This was the first Peace Club event of the year, and it is considered to be an opportunity to strengthen communication on the Korean Peninsula, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to expand international cooperation on North Korea policy through continuous consultations with the foreign embassies in Seoul.