South Korea considers raising issue of North Korean assassination of leader’s brother at UN

Published : Feb 21, 2017 - 20:37 Updated : Feb 21, 2017 - 20:37

South Korea is reviewing a plan to raise the issue of North Korea’s recent assassination of leader Kim Jong-un’s half brother at an incoming session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

Kim Jong-nam (Yonhap)

“Concerning the latest murder, (the government) is reviewing an action to publicize the North Korean regime’s brutality and inhumanity on the occasion of the international community’s human rights discussion,” foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said, referring to the UN council’s gathering next week.

Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and half-brother of current leader Kim Jong-un, was assassinated with what is believed to be poison by North Korean agents at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The incident took place Monday while he was waiting to board a flight to Macao.

A high-level segment of the UN council session kicks off in Geneva on Feb. 27 with South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Chong-ghee to attend the gathering.

“On the occasion, the government plans (also) to stress the need to hold North Korea accountable for its human rights violations and appealed for the international community’s attention to the dire human rights situation of North Korea,” the spokesman also noted. (Yonhap)