북한 인권담론에 관한 이해와 우리의 현실적인 제반과제

Abstract

The problem of human rights in North Korea is an issue not only in South Korea but also under increasing scrutiny from the international community. In particular, the North Korea human rights problems, which were not included in the negotiation table at the Hanoi Summit, is now brought up to light again and consequently requires some concrete discussions on its various aspects and issues. Until now, the human rights problem has been dealt mainly by the international community and now South Korean society need to put aside the ideological conflict and deal with the human rights issues with a rational approach. Rather than demanding a comprehensive human rights improvement we should target specific matters such as the disabled persons, women, or the children in order to get small but real improvement little by little. In order to understand this particular context, I will summarize the human rights problems that were produced through the historical process in North Korea and examine the characteristics of the human rights discourse in North Korea. history shows us that comprehensive problems have a high probability of being interconnected with ideological problems and that it is very difficult to get concrete results. Realistically, human rights issue is connected with South Korea-North Korea relations as well as North Korea nuclear program. However, we should approach the matter by trying to persuade North Korea and seek gradual improvements. Matters such as the right of freedom and accountability should be handled through international cooperation. We should set up a discussion process in order to maximize the cooperation between North Korea, the programs that approach the North Korea human rights problem under the subject of development and human rights, and the UN human rights mechanism. Moreover, our important task would be to reassure North Korea that even if the human rights are gradually improved through economic reforms, the regime will be maintained.