North Korea accused of using virus to crack down on rights

United Nations, Dec 12: Eight mainly Western nations have accused North Korea of using the pandemic “to crack down further on the human rights of its own people,” pointing to reports of an uptick in executions related to the coronavirus and strict controls on movements in and around the capital.
Their statement was read virtually after the UN Security Council discussed North Korea’s human rights situation behind closed doors. Germany had sought an open meeting but Russia and China, both neighbors of North Korea, objected. Diplomats said the Germans couldn’t muster the nine “yes” votes needed for an open meeting of the 15-member council.
Seven council members — Germany, Belgium, Dominican Republic, Estonia, France, United Kingdom and United States — joined by Japan said in the statement that North Korea was putting nuclear power and military might over its people. The government’s decision “to prioritize its weapons programs over the needs of its people and their isolation from the international community, is inevitably worsening the impacts of the pandemic on the North Korean population,” they said. North Korea sealed its border with China, its biggest trading partner and aid benefactor, as the coronavirus started spreading in January.
Kim Jong Un’s government maintains it hasn’t found a single coronavirus case on its soil, a claim disputed by outside experts. The country’s closure, along with a series of natural disasters over the summer, dealt a heavy blow to the North Korean economy, which has been under punishing US-led sanctions. (AP)