President Park Geun-hye met Michael Donald Kirby, chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (COI), and discussed with him the activity of the commission, North Korean human rights and South Korea's policy toward the North, in a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on May 30.

President Park said that the COI's report in February brought about a rise in interest from the international community in North Korean human rights issues. The COI's detailed investigations and recommendations in regard to crimes against humanity are a milestone in the worldwide effort to improve the human rights situation in the North, she said.



In addition, the president added that the U.N. Human Rights Council's (UNHRC) adoption of the resolution built upon the findings and recommendations of the COI has laid a foundation for the implementation of the COI's suggested policies and would actually help improve North Korea's human rights situation.

Kirby said the COI works for Koreans in both South and North Korea and does not hold hostility against anyone. He also thanked the South Korean government for aiding the COI's investigations and for not interfering with the COI's activity, so that it could produce an independent and comprehensive report. He also expressed gratitude to the South Korean government for its translation of the COI's report into Korean and said that when the translation is complete, residents of North Korea, a member of the U.N., will also be able to learn about the results of its investigation as well as about the way in which the COI was established. Kirby thanked the South Korean government for supporting the opening of a U.N. North Korean human rights office in the South. He said when the office is opened it would become a non-political, neutral part of the U.N. and it would implement its policies and listen to and reflect upon the opinions of various parts of society.

President Park said it is very meaningful that a field-based structure is to be established in South Korea as part of the COI's investigation. The president said that the South Korean government agreed with its establishment because Kirby, members of the COI and high representatives from the UNHRC have all given a favorable opinion on the establishment of a field-based structure in the South. The president hoped that it would actually help improve conditions and human rights in North Korea.

President Park explained her vision for a peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula, which she outlined in a speech in Dresden in March, and asked Kirby to take an interest in the issue of reunification.

In response, the former Australian high court justice said that the Dresden declaration is very significant in relation to human rights issues in North Korea and that the COI report contains a similar messages. He also said the Dresden declaration is also in line with the position of the COI and the U.N.

By Wi Tack-whan, Limb Jae-un
Korea.net staff writers
whan23@korea.kr