Kerry: Silence on N.K. human rights violations 'greatest abuse of all'

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called Tuesday for greater international attention to North Korea's human rights violations, saying that remaining silent about the problem would be the "greatest abuse of all."

   Kerry made the appeal during a ministerial meeting he hosted in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly while urging Pyongyang to shut down all political prison camps across the communist nation, which he described as an "evil system."

   "We simply cannot be blind to these egregious affronts to human nature and we cannot accept it, and silence would be the greatest abuse of all," Kerry said.

   Kerry stressed that the U.N. Commission of Inquiry's report on the problem has lifted the veil on the issue, referring to a report released in February that North Korean leaders are responsible for "widespread, systematic and gross" violations of human rights.

   The report also said the International Criminal Court should handle North Korea's "crimes against humanity."

   "No longer can North Korea's secrecy be seen as an excuse for silence or ignorance or inaction because in 400 pages of excruciating details and testimonies from over 80 witnesses, the U.N. Commission of Inquiry's report of the DPRK (North Korea) has laid bare what it rightly calls systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights," he said.

   Kerry also said that the North's sentencing of American citizens to labor camps "without a trial, fair trial is just as unjust as it is reprehensible." He also said tens of thousands of people are suffering in political prison camps across the North.

   "If we don't stand with men and women suffering in anonymity in places like North Korea, then what do we stand for? If we don't give voice to the voiceless, then why even bother to speak about these issues?" Kerry said. "So we say to the North Korean government, all of us here today, you should close those camps, you should shut this evil system down," he said.

   As the COI report recommended, the North should acknowledge its abuses, hold those responsible to account and reform basic institutions of society, Kerry said, adding the U.S. will work with South Korea, the European Union, Australia and Japan on a "strong U.N. resolution" that moves those recommendations forward.

   Other speakers at Tuesday's event included South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and the new U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein, as well as Shin Dong-hyuk, a North Korean defector who survived a prison camp.

   Yun praised the COI report for promoting international awareness of the problem and urged North Korea to comply with the COI's recommendations. He also stressed that it makes no sense for the North to claim it will try to improve human rights through nuclear development.

   Yun also proposed to hold human rights talks with the North, saying he welcomes Pyongyang's recent expression of willingness for dialogue on the issue. He also urged the North to resolve such human rights issues as families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War and the issue of South Korean prisoners of war from the conflict.

   Tuesday's event underlined Kerry's commitment to speak out about the issue.

   In his Asia policy speech last month, Kerry called strongly for an immediate shutdown of all North Korean political prison camps, known as "gulags," stressing that such "deprivation of human dignity just has no place in the 21st century."

   North Korea has long been labeled one of the worst human rights violators in the world. The communist regime does not tolerate dissent, holds hundreds of thousands of people in political prison camps across the nation and keeps tight control over outside information.

   But Pyongyang has bristled at any talk of its human rights conditions, calling it a U.S.-led attempt to topple its regime.

Earlier this month, the North released its own human rights report, claiming the country has the world's most advantageous human rights system and policies. (Yonhap)