Several human rights organizations, including the Korea Center for United Nations Human Rights Policy (KOCUN), hold a rally in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday (local time), to call for improvements in North Korea's human rights situation. Courtesy of KOCUN

North Korea's human rights record will come under intense scrutiny, Thursday, as the United Nations Human Rights Council holds the fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group from Nov. 4 to 15, according to the foreign ministry and human rights activists, Wednesday.

UPR is a mechanism that calls for each U.N. state to go through a peer review of its human rights record every 4.5 years, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The first, second and third UPR reviews of North Korea took place in December 2009, May 2014 and May 2019, respectively.

A total of 91 countries, including South Korea, China, and Russia, have submitted questions ahead of Thursday's review. This is an increase compared to previous sessions — 52 in 2009, 85 in 2014, and 88 in 2019.

"Interest in North Korean human rights has increased significantly as this year marks the 10th anniversary of the release of the U.N. Report of the Commission of Inquiry on the human rights situation in North Korea. The North's border closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic and 'two hostile states' policy also fueled interest from the international community," a senior foreign ministry official said.

The government will pressure North Korea to address the issue of enforced disappearances and confirm the fate of six South Koreans detained in the North, including Kim Jung-wook, Choi Chun-gil, and Kim Kook-kie, whose whereabouts remain unknown. It will also advocate for the reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

Other countries will condemn the implementation of the so-called "three evil laws," which include the Law on Rejecting Reactionary Thought and Culture (2020), the Youth Education Guarantee Law (2021), and the Law on Protecting the Pyongyang Cultural Language (2023), all aimed at suppressing residents. They will also urge North Korea to protect women and girls from sexual violence and human trafficking.

North Korea has been intensifying surveillance and punishment of its people, particularly youths, by enforcing the so-called "three evil laws" to prevent access to outside information.

President Shin Hye-su of the Korea Center for UN Human Rights Policy (KOCUN), center, and leaders of human rights organizations deliver a statement to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the UN office in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday (local time), urging it to accept and implement policy recommendations to improve human rights situation in North Korea. Courtesy of KOCUN

All eyes are on whether the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia will be addressed in the session. The government has emphasized that the human rights situation in North Korea is intrinsically connected to international peace and security.

"When South Korea undertook the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in June, we have mentioned how the increasing militarization of North Korea negatively impacts the human rights situation like two sides of the same coin, and this could have raised awareness about human rights in North Korea," the foreign ministry official said.

Ahead of Thursday's UPR, several human rights organizations, including Korea Center for United Nations Human Rights Policy (KOCUN), have highlighted the various types of human rights violations committed by Pyongyang. They delivered a statement to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the UN office in Geneva, urging it to accept and implement policy recommendations to improve the human rights situation.

"It's been more than 10 years since the UN Commission's report was released, but North Korean residents are still experiencing various human rights violations ranging from basic civil and political liberties as well as economic, social and cultural rights," rights groups said in a joint statement.

To attract attention to human rights violations committed by the North, several rights groups are organizing an event calling for "Dignity, Hope and Freedom of North Koreans" in Geneva this week.

The Ministry of Unification also vowed to continue efforts to promote mutual international understanding and encourage countries to speak up about North Korea's human rights issues during the upcoming UPR session.