Everyone is concerned about the DPRK, but they've forgotten about the Korean War: technically, it's still going on.
While there is overwhelming evidence that economic and political conditions in North Korea must improve, missing from debates in UN corridors is the fact that the unresolved Korean War (1950-1953) underlies North Korea's human rights crisis.
After claiming up to four million lives with at least one member of every family in North Korea killed by the war, the Korean War was halted by an armistice agreement signed by North Korea, China and the United States representing the United Nations Command.
As James Laney, US Ambassador to South Korea during the 1990s explains, "one of the things that have bedeviled all talks until now is the unresolved status of the Korean War" and he prescribes the "establishment of a peace treaty to replace the truce."
What does the past have to do with the present state of human rights in North Korea?
The continued state of war affects the human rights of North Korean people today in at least two ways. Domestically, the North Korean government prioritizes military defense and national security over human security and political freedoms. Internationally, North Koreans suffer due to political isolation and economic sanctions.
The fact that the Korean War ended with a temporary ceasefire rather than a permanent peace treaty gives the North Korean government justification - whether we like it or not - to invest heavily in the country's militarization.
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