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Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Rights abuses continue in North Korea a decade after probe, says UN investigator
A North Korean flag flutters on top of a 160-metre tower in North Korea's propaganda village of Gijungdong in this picture taken from the Dora observatory near the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, South Korea, April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo SEOUL - A decade after a landmark U.N. report concluded North Korea committed crimes against humanity, a U.N. official investigating rights in the isolated state told Reuters many abuses continue, exacerbated by COVID-era controls that have yet to be lifted. James Heenan, who represents the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Seoul, said he is still surprised by the continued prevalence of executions, forced labour and reports of starvation in the authoritarian country. Later this year Heenan's team will release a follow-up report to the 2014 findings by the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which said the government had committed "systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations" that constituted crimes against humanity. DPRK is North Korea's official name. While the conclusions of this year's report are still being finalised, Heenan told Reuters in an interview that the last 10 years have seen mixed results, with North Korea's government engaging more with some international institutions, but doubling down on control at home. "The post-COVID period for DPRK means a period of much greater government control over people's lives and restrictions on their freedoms," he said in the interview. North Korea's embassy in London did not answer phone calls seeking comment. The government has in the past denied abuses and accused the U.N. and foreign countries of trying to use human rights as a political weapon to attack North Korea. A Reuters investigation in 2023 found leader Kim Jong Un had spent much of the COVID pandemic building a massive string of walls and fences along the previously porous border with China, and later built fences around the capital of Pyongyang. A report this week by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said the COVID pandemic raged in North Korea for more than two years before the regime admitted in May 2022 that the virus had permeated its borders, and that the regime bungled the response in a way that violated freedoms and left most citizens to fend for themselves. On Wednesday SI Analytics, a Seoul-based satellite imagery firm, released a report noting North Korea is renovating a key prison camp near the border with China, possibly in response to international criticism, while simultaneously strengthening physical control over prisoners under the pretence of facility improvement. Heenan said his team has talked to more than 300 North Koreans who fled their country in recent years, and many expressed despair. "Sometimes we hear people saying they sort of hope a war breaks out, because that might change things," he said. A number of those interviewees will speak publicly for the first time next week as part of an effort to put a human face on the U.N. findings. "It's a rare opportunity to hear from people publicly what they want to say about what's happening in the DPRK," Heenan said. He expressed concern about funding cuts for international aid and U.N. programmes around the world, which is pressuring human rights work and threatening support for North Korean refugees. While human rights has traditionally been a politically volatile subject not only for Pyongyang but for foreign governments trying to engage with the nuclear-armed North, Heenan said the issues like prison camps need to be part of any engagement on a political settlement. "There's no point self-censoring on human rights, because... no one's fooled," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Visitors rush to see South Korea's Blue House before presidential return
People take a look around inside the Blue House's main building in Seoul, South Korea, June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji Women take a selfie in front of the presidential residence of the Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji An employee leads people waiting in a line to get into the Blue House's main building in Seoul, South Korea, June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji People take a look around inside the Blue House's main building in Seoul, South Korea, June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji An employee leads people waiting in a line to get into the Blue House's main building in Seoul, South Korea, June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEOUL - Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans have thronged the Blue House in central Seoul in recent months to get their last glimpse of the historic compound before it is returned to official use as the home and office of the country's president. Lee Jae Myung, who won a snap election on June 3, plans to move into the Blue House soon and access to some buildings will be restricted from mid-July, the presidential office announced last week. Former leader Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office in April after briefly declaring martial law, broke with decades of tradition by shifting his office and residence out of the compound and opening it to the public. "I heard this place will likely be closed soon. So I wanted to come at least once before that happened," said An Hyun, 62, an office worker from Wonju in northeastern Gangwon Province who was visiting the Blue House this week. "Now that I've seen it, it's really neat and tidy. I don't understand why they moved out of here," said An. Soon after taking office in 2022, Yoon moved the presidential office to a cluster of former defence ministry buildings in another area of central Seoul. The move whipped up a fierce debate among experts on feng shui, a practice that originated in ancient China to ensure harmony between people and their environment, after some political rivals accused Yoon of being influenced by those who said the Blue House location was inauspicious. The Blue House, or "Cheong Wa Dae" in Korean, is named after the blue tiles that cover the top of the main building and is nestled in a scenic spot in front of the Bugaksan mountain. The Blue House Foundation that organises visits said tours to see the ornate state rooms and manicured lawns were fully booked until mid-July. More than 8 million people had taken the chance to visit the Blue House by mid-June, data from the foundation showed. After an initial surge of interest when the complex first opened to the public in 2022, the number of monthly visitors had drifted down to average about 160,000 last year, but after Yoon's impeachment visitor numbers hit 260,000 in April and 430,000 in May. Another visitor this week, Jin Kyung-soo, a 35-year-old middle-school teacher, had also made a reservation to visit after hearing that the new administration planned to move in again. "We waited in line for about an hour, but it was truly exciting and joyful. I looked around with great hope for what the Lee Jae Myung government will do going forward," said Jin. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Seoul's LGBT community gathers for annual festival after liberal president elected
FILE PHOTO: A participant poses for photographs during the Seoul Queer Culture Festival in Seoul, South Korea, June 1, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo SEOUL - The annual Seoul Queer Culture Festival was held in the South Korean capital on Saturday after the country ushered in a new liberal president, though it faced concurrent protests against the LGBT community's pride celebrations. While the community has made some advances towards broader acceptance in Korean society, conservative religious groups still mount resistance to efforts to pass laws against discrimination, and there is no legal acknowledgement of LGBTQ+ partnerships. City authorities repeatedly denied venue clearance requests for last year's festival before eventually giving their approval. "The slogan for the 26th Seoul Queer Culture Festival is that we never stop," said its chief organiser Hwang Chae-yoo. "During the last ... administration, hate against homosexuality and LGBTQ+ became very strong, leading to government policies that often ignored LGBTQ+ people. That's why we expressed our will to never give up until the end, and make efforts to improve human rights," Hwang said. South Korea elected liberal President Lee Jae-myung earlier this month in a snap election, after conservative predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol was ousted following his impeachment. While Lee has not explicitly stated his positions on LGBT issues during the campaign, his election has led to optimism among some in the community that conditions could improve. Under blue skies and temperatures reaching 31 degrees Celsius (87.8 Fahrenheit), festival turnout was brisk with people, some carrying rainbow flags, milling about booths including those set up by LGBTQ+ organisations, embassies and university clubs. From 4:30 p.m. local time (0730 GMT), participants marched through the streets of Seoul, calling for improved human rights and self-esteem for LGBTQ+ people. The event's organisers said 30,000 people were taking part, though police put their estimate at around 7,000. A protest against the Queer Culture Festival was also held in a nearby location in central Seoul on Saturday. Participants held blue and pink signs with phrases such as "Homosexuality Stop" and "Destroys Families". There was no clash. "It's changed a lot compared to the old days, but most people are still like, 'we know you exist, but don't come out'," said 44-year-old festival participant Hong Il-pyo, who was dressed in drag. "I hope we can make a little progress and change to 'you exist, so let's live well together.'" REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
12-06-2025
- General
- Straits Times
The world's worst air crashes in recent years
An aerial view shows officials working at the site after removed big wreckage of burnt Japan Airlines' (JAL) Airbus A350 plane after a collision with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft next to it's runway at Haneda international airport in Tokyo, Japan January 7, 2024, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo via REUTERS The wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft that went off the runway and crashed lies at Muan International Airport, in Muan, South Korea, December 30, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji A barge carrying a crane transports parts of the wreckage from the Potomac River as an American Airlines plane lands on the runway, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the river, by the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., February 5, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz LONDON - Many people were killed when an Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, authorities said, in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. Below are details of other fatal crashes in recent years. 2025 UNITED STATES More than 60 people were killed when an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on January 29 and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. 2024 SOUTH KOREA Jeju Air international flight 7C2216 crashed at Muan International Airport on Dec. 29, 2024, killing all 175 passengers and four of the six crew in the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil. KAZAKHSTAN Azerbaijan Airlines international flight J2-8243, an Embraer E190, crashed on December 25 after being diverted from Russia to Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said in December the plane had been damaged by accidental shooting from the ground in Russia. Moscow has not confirmed this. JAPAN A Japan Airlines (JAL) plane collided with a smaller Coast Guard aircraft on the runway of Tokyo's Haneda airport on January 2. All 379 people aboard the JAL plane, an Airbus A350-941 flight, escaped the burning airliner. Five of six crew on the smaller aircraft were killed. 2022 CHINA A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed into a mountainous region in the southwestern Guangxi region on March 21, 2022, killing all 132 people on board, in China's deadliest aviation disaster in 28 years. 2020 IRAN Iran's Revolutionary Guards shot down a Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Boeing 737-800 on Jan. 8, 2020 shortly after it took off from Tehran Airport, killing all 176 people on board. Iran's civil aviation body blamed a misaligned radar and an error by an air defence operator. 2019 ETHIOPIA A Boeing 737-MAX 8 Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed on March 19, 2019 minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa for Nairobi, killing all 157 people on board. Soon after, the Boeing 737 MAX global fleet was grounded over safety concerns. 2018 INDONESIA A Boeing 737 MAX Lion Air plane crashed into the Java Sea soon after taking off from Jakarta on October 29, 2018, killing all 189 people on board. 2014 MALAYSIA Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, and was shot down over eastern Ukraine as fighting raged between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces. All 298 passengers on board were killed. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. The remains of the Boeing 777 and the 239 people have not been found. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
BTS members RM, V discharged from South Korea military, looking forward to reunion
BTS members V and RM, who have been discharged from South Korea's mandatory military service, pose for photographs during an event in Chuncheon, South Korea, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji A fan writes a message after an event for BTS members V and RM, who have been discharged from South Korea's mandatory military service, in Chuncheon, South Korea, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji Brazilian fans wait for BTS members V and RM, who are set to be officially discharged from South Korea's mandatory military service today, in Chuncheon, South Korea, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji BTS members V and RM, arrive for an event after being discharged from South Korea's mandatory military service, in Chuncheon, South Korea, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji BTS members V and RM, who have been discharged from South Korea's mandatory military service, pose for photographs during an event in Chuncheon, South Korea, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEOUL - K-pop supergroup BTS members RM and V were discharged from the South Korean military on Tuesday after mandatory service, as fans are counting down to the band's comeback with more members finishing their military duty later this month. Cheered by dozens of fans near the military base, the two members in their army uniforms saluted the crowd and said they will soon be returning to perform. "To all the ARMYs who have waited for us in the military, I want to say I am truly, truly grateful. Please wait just a little longer and we will return with a really cool performance," V said in front of fans and media. Known as ARMY, BTS has a global fan club with millions of loyal followers. Two other bandmates, Jin and J-Hope, were discharged from the military earlier and have been performing solo and appearing on variety shows. Jimin, Jung Kook and Suga are set to wrap their military service as late as June 21, media reports say. The globally recognised K-pop icon BTS has not released a group project since 2022 and its members are hoping for the reunion. 'After pursuing our own little ventures, we are now coming back together, and I love that for us,' J-Hope told a magazine in December. Entertainment group HYBE that manages BTS is planning a huge event called BTS FESTA this week for fans to celebrate the band's 12th anniversary. It is not clear whether the members will show up, but Jin attended last year. Holding a flower bouquet for their discharge from the army, RM said he wanted to perform the most. "(Members) would feel the same, but stage performance, I want to perform the most. I'll work hard to make an album soon and come back to the stage," RM said, after playing the sax for the crowd. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
