Minister Kim visits the U.S. to hold discussions with officials from Washington and Tokyo regarding the human rights situation in North Korea (October 17 to 20, Washington D.C.)

Building consensus and strengthening cooperation with the international community on North Korean human rights issues through the South Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral meeting on North Korean human rights

Minister Kim visits the U.S. to hold discussions with officials from Washington and Tokyo regarding the human rights situation in North Korea (October 17 to 20, Washington D.C.)

hold high-level international dialogues on unification, including trilateral talks involving officials from South Korea, the U.S., and Japan on North Korean human rights.
* A follow-up measure proposed by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell during Unification Minister Kim Yung Ho's visit to the U.S. last July.

On October 17, Unification Minister Kim Yung Ho visited George Washington University to give a special lecture and to talk about unification issues on the Korean Peninsula with American students.

Minister Kim explained the recent changes in North Korean society and emphasized that unification is a "moral obligation" for the Korean people.

The students, after hearing the lecture, showed great interest in unification issues, asking questions about the implementation of the August 15 Unification Doctrine and unification policies aimed at future generations.

On October 18, South Korea, the U.S., and Japan held a trilateral meeting on North Korean human rights and its side events to discuss and improve North Korean human rights based on the Spirit of Camp David.

The meeting was attended by Unification Minister Kim Yung Ho, South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Hyun Dong, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, and Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Shigeo Yamada, where they sought ways to resolve North Korean human rights issues and issued a joint statement.

Through the Joint Statement on Strengthening Cooperation to Improve Human Rights in North Korea, the three countries reaffirmed that improving the human rights situation in North Korea is integral to achieving lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Moreover, they reaffirmed their commitment to increase their joint efforts to increase access to independent information in North Korea, to promote accountability for those responsible for human rights abuses in North Korea, to support and amplify the voices of North Korean defectors to increase global awareness of violations in North Korea, and to urge the immediate resolution of the issues of abductees, detainees, and unrepatriated prisoners of war as well as the issue of separated families.

The following public session with North Korean defectors, attended by over 150 participants, including representatives from the three countries, representatives from observer states*, and experts, featured testimonies from North Korean defectors who shared firsthand accounts of the atrocities committed in North Korea. The Q&A session with North Korean human rights experts highlighted the importance of international cooperation in addressing the human rights issues.
* Germany, Sweden, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Canada, EU, Ecuador, France, Gabon, the Philippines,
Thailand, UAE, and the UK.

After the public session, four North Korean defector artists* active in areas such as visual arts and music exhibited their work and performed, providing an opportunity to approach North Korean human rights issues through the lens of art.
*Rapper and painter Kang Chunhyeok, painter Ahn Chungguk, classical guitarist Yu Eunji, and painter
Jeon Juyeong.