North Korea Is a Human Rights Disaster

-Source-foriegn Policy- The United States has a moral responsibility and pragmatic imperative to keep rights violations on the table at the Singapore summit. As U.S. President Donald Trump readies for his June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un both countries teams are working to finalize the scope of the historic meeting. Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeos talks this week with Kim Yong Chol a top aide to the North Korean leader and vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea yielded not only a rescheduled summit but also more realistic expectations about how much it could accomplish and the likely need for multiple meetings. In addition to dealing with North Koreas nuclear program and declaring a formal end to the Korean War the U.S. team should prepare to address the countrys systemic violations of human rights. Raising the issue of human rights is not only and most importantly the morally right thing to do but it is also directly linked to the security situation central to U.S. policy toward North Korea and key to building congressional support for any progress or deal the president is able to make. While the primary objective of the summit is denuclearization it also offers an opportunity for the U.S. delegation to clarify the wider range of issues the United States prioritizes in its policy toward North Korea. It is highly unlikely that this meeting will yield an acknowledgement of human rights abuses on Kims part or immediate progress but it should establish a clear expectation that the United States will not turn a blind eye on these massive atrocities and should set the stage for future discussions. Simply put North Koreas human rights abuses are among the worst in the world.Simply put North Koreas human rights abuses are among the worst in the world. These violations have been well documented by international human rights groups.