In December 2014, amidst great controversy, Permanent Representative of Korea to the United Nations Ambassador Oh Joon delivered a speech entitled “North Korean Human Right issues” to members of the United Nations Security Council. The message he conveys remains as powerful and relevant as it was when it was first spoken.
Below is an excerpt of his speech.
Millions of South Koreans still have our family members and relatives living in the North
Even though we never hear from them, even though by now the pain of separation has become the cold fact of life — Just a few hundreds of kilometers away from where we live.
We can not read what is described in the COI (Commision of Inquiry)’s report without it breaking our hearts.
We can not listen to stories of North Korean defectors without sharing it in their tears, without feeling as if we were there with them experiencing tragedy
We only hope that one day in the future, when we look back what we did today, we will be able to say that we did the right thing for the people of North Korea. For the lives of every man and woman and boy and girl who has the same human rights as the rest of us.