U.N. Rights Expert Says North Korea Must Address Abductee Cases for Lasting Peace

A United Nations human rights expert said North Korea has not cooperated adequately in resolving cases of abducted and disappeared persons and that the issue must be addressed for any lasting peace agreement. In an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday, the chair of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances said the office has received 538 cases involving persons abducted or disappeared in North Korea.

Many of those cases involve South Korean citizens whose fate and whereabouts remain unknown. The expert was visiting South Korea for talks with officials on issues involving South Korean abductees and prisoners of war held in North Korea. The working group transmits cases to the relevant government through its permanent mission in Geneva.

Korea has provided responses to some cases, though not consistently and not on every case. None of the responses has been considered satisfactory enough to close a case, and in some instances there has been no response at all. The expert called for joint efforts by South Korea and the international community to keep the issue on the agenda during diplomatic discussions and to demand that North Korea clarify the fate of the disappeared.

The expert rejected arguments that human rights issues should be set aside to prioritize other political matters such as denuclearization. She stated that unresolved issues of disappeared persons are bound to return and undermine any peace situation.

The working group assists families in determining the fate or whereabouts of missing relatives by serving as a communication channel between victims' families, human rights groups, and governments. South Korea joined the U.N. convention on enforced disappearances in 2023.

The expert also addressed Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, noting that some cases could be considered enforced disappearances and that full reparations have yet to be made.