North
Korea
Complains of
DC Event, No
Right to
Reply, No
Reply from Ban
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 16
--The North
Korean mission
to the UN held
a press
conference at
its office on
Second Avenue
on President's
Day, when the
UN was closed.
The purpose
was to go
public with
the opposition
of the
Democratic
People's
Republic of
Korea to the
“Conference on
North Korean
Human Rights”
to be held by
the Center for
Strategic and
International
Studies in
Washington on
February 17.
Inner City
Press asked
North Korean
Ambassador
Jang Il Hun
if, as the
Korea Times
has reported,
the event
would be held
in the US
Capitol. No,
he said, he
expected it
would be held
on CSIS's
campus. The
State
Department
told him that
since it is
not a US
government
event -
despite the
participation
of Ambassador
Robert King
and Kurt
Campbell - the
DPRK's request
for
cancellation
or
participation
was not
granted.
Despite the
presence of UN
High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights Prince
Zeid, and a
blue UN flag,
Inner City
Press was told
that was not a
“UN event,” so
no right to
reply.
Inner City
Press also
asked Jang Il
Hun if UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon has
replied to his
government's
recent letter.
No, was the
answer. Video
here and
embedded
below. And so
it goes at the
UN.
This press
conference was
held a small
room at the
DPRK mission
on Second
Avenue; Inner
City press tweeted
photos here,
and here.
Jang Il Hun
said he hoped
this would be
the first of
many such
events, part
of DPRK's
campaign. In
the foyer were
photographs of
gifts given to
DPRK,
including a
signed Wilson
basketball.
“Now you must
leave,” the
Press was
told. Back at
the UN, the
temperature
was 57
degrees. Watch
this site.
Here's
the DPRK
Mission's
statement:
No.4
/02/15
Press
Statement of
the Permanent
Mission of the
Democratic
People's
Republic of
Korea to the
United Nations
The Permanent
Mission of the
Democratic
People's
Republic of
Korea to the
Unite Nations
releases the
following
press
statement with
regard to the
“Conference on
North Korean
Human Rights”
to be hosted
by the United
States in
Washington
D.C.
The United
States and
south Korea
are going to
convene
so-called
"Conference on
North Korean
Human Rights:
the Road
Ahead" on 17
February in
Washington by
bringing
together
Michael Donald
Kirby, former
chairman of
COI and
Marzuki
Darusman, the
Special
Rapporteur on
the situation
of human
rights in the
DPRK.
The Permanent
Mission of the
Democratic
People's
Republic of
Korea to the
United Nations
condemns the
convening of
such human
rights
gathering as a
political
human rights
plot against
the DPRK and
makes clear
its position
as follows;
The
"Conference on
North Korean
Human Rights:
the Road Ahead
" constitutes
a product of
the hostile
policy of the
United States
against the
DPRK, and it
is nothing but
a rubbish
event for the
United States
to get rid of
the
predicament
driven at home
and abroad,
due to the
recent
confession by
the defector
of the
fabrication of
his testimony
and to the
disclosure of
CIA's torture
crimes.
We made due
request to the
U.S. on our
participation
in the
gathering,
since we are
the party
directly
concerned. But
the U.S.
ignored our
request for
participation
because they
are afraid of
disclosure of
their plot for
fabrication.
The US is
advised to
clean up its
own human
rights
ravages. If
the U.S. is
sincerely
interested in
human rights,
they should,
above all,
call into
question the
CIA's torture
crimes and the
gross human
rights
violations
committed by
"national
security law"
in south
Korea, far
from clinging
to the
attempted
fabrication of
falsehood and
plot through
such as the
kind of above
"conference".
The United
States does
not have
qualification
at all to talk
about human
rights
situation of
other
countries,
since it is
the worst
human rights
violator in
the world.
We, the people
of the DPRK
are proud of
our political
and social
system chosen
by ourselves
and we will
strongly
respond to any
attempts to
overthrow our
system under
the pretext of
human rights.
, 
