Seoul, Aug 23: South Korea, the US and Japan plan to hold a meeting to discuss North Korean human rights issues in Washington, D.C. in October, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said.
The meeting, to be hosted by the US State Department in early October, will involve government officials and civilian experts, the ministry said on Friday.
“The meeting will serve as a platform to address various issues related to North Korea, including human rights,” ministry deputy spokesman Kim In-ae said during a press briefing.
The event is a follow-up to the historic trilateral summit held at Camp David in Maryland last August, which brought together South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, reports Yonhap news agency.
According to sources, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho is likely to attend the event.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell reportedly invited Kim to attend the event during their meeting in the U.S. in July, where they pledged to work together to promote accountability for North Korea’s human rights abuses.
The Unification Ministry also plans to provide a detailed explanation of the new unification principles proposed by President Yun Suk-yol earlier this month.
During the Liberation Day speech marking the 79th anniversary of independence from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule, Yun suggested that South and North Korea establish a working-level dialogue channel. He also vowed to raise more awareness of North Korea’s dismal human rights situation around the world.
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