TaiPiei, Taiwan – North Korea continued to impose strict controls on the movement of its citizens, resulting in a sharp decline in the number of defectors that escape the country, has shown a recent United Nations report, despite the signs of the softening of its closure of the Covid -19 border.
A total of 181 North Korean defectors – 159 women and 22 men – entered South Korea between January and September of last year, according to a report submitted by the United Nations High High Commissioner, or Ohchr, to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
In 2023, the number of defectors that went to South Korea was 196.
The report pointed out that these figures represent a drastic drop in relation to the pre-countryic levels. In 2019, before the trigger of COVID-19, some 1,047 defectors arrived in South Korea, which means that the last figures represent only about a quarter of a fifth of the previous count.
The report awarded the sharp decline in the continuous restrictions of North Korea to freedom of movement, despite the partially reopening of its borders.
He also noted a change in the demography of the defector. Many of those who have arrived in South Korea in recent years were workers who had been sent abroad – mainly in China and Russia – to generate foreign money for the Kim Jong Un, rather than trafficked women who once included the majority of defects.
The ochch report has also documented serious human rights violations in North Korea, based on the testimonies of 175 defectors perceived between November 2022 and October 2023. These testimonies have detailed violations in detention establishments, chronic food shortages, ideological control through public executions and other acts which could constitute international crimes.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, urged North Korea to recognize the existence of human rights violations and to grant access to international human rights groups.
He also called for punishment for inhuman treatment, protection against forced disappearances and rapid compensation for victims.
“The United Nations Security Council is expected to take measures, such as referring the case to the International Criminal Court, to hold officials from the serious human rights violations in North Korea,” said Türk.
North Korea farm His only bridge for foreign tourists in early March, weeks after allowing visitors to return, which suggested that he was opening for the first time since he imposed a COVVI-19 ban on arrival in 2020.
Impact on public health
Strict northern movement controls also have large -scale consequences on public health and sanitation, as lack of mobility has hindered access to essential services and resources.
Despite certain foreign embassies, such as those of Cuba, India, Poland and Sweden, taking up operations in Pyongyang since the second half of 2024, the UN and humanitarian aid organizations are still faced with restrictions on the seizure of the country, according to a distinct report presented to the UN Human Rights Council by Elizabeth Salmon, humans in North Korea.
The report indicates that the chronic food insecurity of North Korea has left almost half of the population with malnutrition.
He estimated the country’s malnutrition rate at an average of 45.5% in the past three years. Based on food and agriculture organization data, around 11.8 million North Koreans would have been ill-fed during this period.
The report attributed the serious food crisis to a combination of obsolete production infrastructure, inadequate technology, a lack of investment and frequent natural disasters. In addition, government’s restrictive policies on private companies, including the reintegration of state control over essential goods such as rice and corn, have aggravated the situation.
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The national vaccination rate has increased by more than 96% before the pandemic at less than 42% by mid-2010, without children who do not receive vaccinations for major diseases, including tuberculosis, throughout 2022, according to the report.
North Korea has been designated as one of the 30 nations with heaviness for drug -resistant tuberculosis by the World Health Organization.
The report also revealed that 52% of North Korean households depend on the elimination of unsanitary waste, posing serious public health risks, including increased cases of diarrhea.
Edited by Mike Firn and Stephen Wright.