UN representative says DPRK is more isolated than ever — UN News
North Korea has become more isolated than at any time in its history, said James Heenan, head of the Seoul office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. According to him, it is virtually impossible to enter the country, while the border with China is so tightly closed that even illegal crossings have almost stopped. He said this in an interview with UN News.
The UN office monitors the situation without direct access to North Korea. Heenan noted that his staff rely primarily on testimony from people who have experienced or witnessed violations, as well as on information from the North Korean government and satellite imagery. Overall, the organization has interviewed about 1,000 people.
Restricted access and food shortages
According to Heenan, isolation limits people's access to outside information, medicines, medical treatment and certain food products. Residents of the country have no access to the internet, while international humanitarian organizations, including UN agencies, have been unable to enter North Korea for five or six years.
The UN representative also said that all the people interviewed by his office mentioned hunger at some point. He noted that there was a drought in the country earlier this year, although the harvest is assessed as acceptable. According to him, the unreformed system of food production and distribution may cause widespread nutritional problems. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Heenan added, deaths from hunger were recorded in the country, though not on the scale seen in the 1990s.
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Forced labor and control
Heenan said that forced labor is part of life for people in North Korea. This includes so-called shock brigades, whose members may be sent to public works for days, weeks, months or years without pay. According to the UN office's assessment, schoolchildren in many areas are also involved in fieldwork during the harvest, which constitutes a form of child forced labor.
At the same time, North Korea is changing: the authorities are building hospitals and factories under a program to construct enterprises in 20 districts annually for 10 years. Thousands of 3G base stations operate in the country, more than 20 types of smartphones are available, and mobile banking has become widespread. However, these technologies operate in a closed environment without internet access and, according to Heenan, may make state surveillance more effective.
He separately called attention to families divided between North Korea, the Republic of Korea and, partly, Japan as a result of enforced disappearances in which North Korea was involved in the past. Heenan said the UN is seeking progress in restoring meetings for such families, which were held until 2018.
