UN Declares N. Korea’s Detention of South Korean Missionaries Arbitrary

The United Nations has classified the detention of South Korean missionaries in North Korea as arbitrary and has called for their immediate release, emphasizing that their imprisonment is a violation of international law. This decision follows a petition from the missionaries’ families, and South Korea has condemned North Korea’s actions, urging collaboration with international partners to resolve the issue.

The United Nations has deemed the extended detention of South Korean missionaries in North Korea as “arbitrary” and has called for their immediate release. The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), associated with the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, declared that North Korea’s imprisonment of Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-kie, and Choi Chun-gil violates international law.

The WGAD report stated, “The detention of Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-ki Kim and Mr. Chun-gil Choi is arbitrary as they have been deprived of their liberty for reasons of discriminatory intent against them, because they were foreign nationals and because of their religious and humanitarian work as Christian missionaries.” The panel asserted that the appropriate response to their case would be their immediate release and provision of reparations, in accordance with international laws.

This resolution followed a petition submitted last July by the families of the missionaries, which sought an assessment of the legality of their continued imprisonment. North Korea countered the WGAD’s position last August, claiming the petition had a political motive and did not infringe international law. However, the U.N. panel dismissed this assertion.

In reaction to the U.N. ruling, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification condemned North Korea’s actions as a “blatant violation of international law.” Deputy spokesperson Kim In-ae remarked, “The international community has officially confirmed that North Korea’s detention of these individuals is illegal,” urging immediate and unconditional release of the detainees.

The South Korean government has committed to collaborating with the international community, including nations like the United States and the United Kingdom, to expedite a resolution to this matter. Kim Jung-wook was arrested on October 8, 2013, for his humanitarian mission among North Korean defectors and was sentenced to life imprisonment in May 2014. Similarly, Kim Kuk-ki and Choi Chun-gil were apprehended in late 2014 and sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2015.

Furthermore, three North Korean defectors with South Korean citizenship were detained in 2016, but the WGAD did not evaluate their cases as no petition was submitted for them.

The UN has categorized the detention of South Korean missionaries in North Korea as arbitrary, urging their immediate release and denouncing the actions as violations of international law. This development highlights the ongoing tensions between North Korea and South Korea, as well as the international community’s oversight of human rights issues concerning detained individuals.

Original Source: www.koreatimes.co.kr