North Korea held a central report meeting Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of Kim Il-sung University, KCNA reported Saturday. Cabinet Prime Minister Pak Thae-song and Korean Workers' Party secretaries Ju Chang-il and Kim Sung-du attended the event. [Yonhap]
North Korea held a central report meeting Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of Kim Il-sung University, KCNA reported Saturday. Cabinet Prime Minister Pak Thae-song and Korean Workers' Party secretaries Ju Chang-il and Kim Sung-du attended the event. [Yonhap]

Guterres submits North Korea human rights report to 81st UN General Assembly

Pyongyang calls it product of 'anti-DPRK human rights agitation' by US and hostile forces

UN report warns of tightening surveillance, urges probe of rights abusers

North Korea has strongly rejected a report on its human rights situation submitted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to the 81st UN General Assembly, accusing it of "distorting and fabricating" the reality of human rights in the country.

A spokesperson for North Korea's Foreign Ministry said Saturday that Guterres had submitted to the General Assembly a human rights report consisting entirely of slander and smear campaigns against the North.

The spokesperson condemned and rejected the report, saying it "distorts and fabricates the human rights reality of a sovereign state while degrading the sacred UN stage into a forum for malicious slander and agitation."

Pyongyang characterized the report as a product of "anti-DPRK human rights agitation" by the United States and other hostile forces, dismissing its contents as fabricated and its format as formulaic, and said it could not recognize the report's legitimacy.

The Foreign Ministry also directed criticism at Guterres personally, claiming that under his tenure the UN had become an unequal and undemocratic body serving the interests of certain states and groups. It added that if North Korea's human rights situation continues to be raised under the next secretary-general, Pyongyang will not tolerate it.

"For us, human rights are national rights — absolute sovereignty that cannot be ceded under any circumstances," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. "Whoever damages the dignity and system of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and touches the interests of its people will be regarded as having committed a grave act of sovereignty violation and will be held fully accountable."

Guterres submitted the report to the 81st UN General Assembly covering North Korea's human rights situation from June 1, 2025, through May 31 this year. The report assessed that human rights conditions continue to deteriorate, with surveillance and control over North Korean citizens intensifying as the use of advanced technology expands. It also urged North Korean authorities to investigate and hold accountable those responsible for human rights abuses.

The report also expressed concern over arbitrary detention, citing South Korean nationals Kim Jong-wook, Choi Chun-gil and Kim Kuk-gi, who are being held in North Korea, as well as Kim Cheol-ok, a North Korean defector who was forcibly repatriated.

North Korea has consistently rejected international scrutiny of its human rights record, dismissing such efforts as political pressure aimed at toppling its system. This time was no different — Pyongyang again framed human rights as a matter directly tied to national sovereignty and reaffirmed that it will not accept the UN's challenges on the issue.


hong@heraldcorp.com