A panel of UN inspectors on the human rights situation in North Korea wrapped up their
10-day stay in Seoul on this Tuesday.
Before moving on to Japan,. their next destination,. the three-member panel briefed reporters on
their findings through their collection of testimonies from North Korean defectors in
Seoul.
For more, let's go live to Hwang Sung-hee at the Arirang News Center.
Sung-hee, how exactly was this investigation conducted by the UN panel?
The United Nations' Commission of Inquiry, headed by Michael Kirby, has been in Seoul
since August 18th.
Since then, the three commissioners held public hearings to collect testimonies from those
who witnessed North Korea's violation of human rights first hand.
During the five-day hearing, the team met with around 50 North Korean defectors.
This is the first day of the hearing, where Shin Dong-hyuk, a well-known North Korean
defector turned human rights activist, offered his account of the North's crimes against
humanity.
"What is it that you saw when you were five-years-old?"
"At political prisons, there are public executions twice every year."
The commission said that through the hearings, they were able to gather evidence of violations
of human rights by North Korea, like the existence of prison camps where conditions are inhumane.
For instance, here, prisoners are often required to live on rats, mice and grasshoppers and
are under constant torture.
Around 200-thousand people are believed to be imprisoned in North Korea's prison camps
today, where they are malnourished or even worked to death.
The panel will be collecting more testimonies and evidences in Japan and other countries.
But do they plan on visiting North Korea for on-site inspections?
That's the problem.
The commission has asked the North Korean government numerous times to visit the North
for on-site investigations.
North Korea has denied any human rights abuses, and has said that UN inspectors will not be
allowed on North Korean soil.
However, during the press conference today, Michael Kirby, the chief commissioner of the
UN panel, said that his commission will continue to reach out to the North for access to their
country and promised to work with no preconceptions.
"The best way for North Korea to respond to the type of evidence, which if left unanswered
is believable, even in some matters compelling, is for it to open its doors, give access."
Before the press conference today, the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency denounced
the investigation, calling it a scheme to overthrow their government.
Could these findings lead to perhaps a criminal law suit against the North Korean leadership?
Well, the commissioners stressed that they are not prosecutors or judges.
They will be writing up a final report with all the accounts that they've collected on
North Korea's human rights violations, and submit it to the United Nations in March next
year.
The commission will be drawing conclusions from the facts that they've found and make
recommendations.
Some have pointed to the possibility of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un being taken to the
International Criminal Court.
But the commissioners said that the jurisdiction of the ICC is limited to the jurisdiction
over people in countries that have accepted its jurisdiction, something the North has
not done.
Nevertheless, there is an exceptional provision whereby the UN Security Council can refer
matters to the ICC even though the country may not have accepted the jurisdiction, so
the possibility is open.
You said the final report will be due in March 2014.
Do we have any idea what the report will include?
The commission said they are trying to make their final report as interesting as possible
to grab the interest of the international community.
They hinted that the report may be circulated in digital, electronic and visual forms of
vivid and succinct testimonies.
The commissioners said that they are the eyes and ears of the international community and
said that they are obligated to try to get the international community to understand
the enormity of the issue.
That was Arirang's Hwang Sung-hee on the United Nations' probe into North Korea's human rights
violations.