North castigates South's 'human rights abuses' in report

The preface to the 95-page book claims that South Koreans suffer the worst human rights violations in the world, including the deprivation of political liberty and even the fundamental right to survival.

The North Korean's human rights reports against South Korea image captured from Uriminzokkiri. [YONHAP]

North Korea recently published its own human rights report to counter the one released by the South Korean government.

The paper, which criticizes South Korea’s human rights violations, was issued on July 21 by Pyongyang Publishing House under the United Front Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

Though the United Front Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea ostensibly exists to develop and manage relations with South Korea, many of its activities focus on propaganda, espionage and political subversion.

The preface to the 95-page book claims that South Koreans suffer the worst human rights violations in the world, including the deprivation of political liberty and even the fundamental right to survival.

The book is split into four major themes — the merciless extirpation of socio-political rights, the stomping on economic and cultural rights, the degradation of women and rampant immoral behavior and the suffering of human rights under the heel of the "invaders' boots."

This mirrors the four chapters in the South Korean Unification Ministry’s North Korean human rights report published in March.

The South Korean report focused on violations of North Koreans' political rights, abuses of their economic, social and cultural rights, the plight of North Korea's vulnerable classes and abuse of political prisoners, South Korean prisoners of war, abductees and separated families.

The North Korean report criticizes South Korea’s high suicide rate, as well as its unemployment rate and sometimes fatal workplace accidents.

Other examples include discrimination against women, people with disabilities and child abuse.

It also claimed that the U.S. military occupies South Korea, including its land, sea and sky, inflicting environmental pollution and committing murders, thefts and other crimes.

Since the report was released, North Korean media has repeatedly attacked the South Korean government.

On July 22 the North Korean propaganda media Maeari claimed that South Korea has become a hell that exterminated human rights since the Yoon Suk Yeol government took office.

It criticized South Korea for pointing fingers at North Korean human rights abuses when it itself abuses human rights.

The South Korean Unification Ministry publicly released its North Korean human rights report for the first time ever in March.

The English version was released a month later.

The South Korean government has issued a report on North Korean human rights every year since 2018.

However, the Moon Jae-in administration kept the reports classified, citing their potential impact on relations with the North and the risk of leaking the personal information of defectors.

The 445-page report was based on testimony from 508 North Korean defectors compiled since 2017.

The report included a case where a pregnant woman in 2017 was executed for pointing a finger at a portrait of the regime founder Kim Il Sung.

In another case included in the report, six teenagers were sentenced to death for watching South Korean videos.

One woman who became pregnant in China and repatriated to the North in 2014 had her newborn murdered by a prison guard.

North Korea scored 3 points out of 100 on the international organization Freedom House’s Global Freedom Status Index. South Korea scored 83, the same score as the United States.

BY BAE JAE-SUNG, LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]